“Most people say I’m a solid ten, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.” When she went up onto her tiptoes to peer through the peephole, there was a scratchy, clicking sound. She froze, her gaze dropping to the doorknob, watching in shocked disbelief as the dead bolt thumped open. It felt surreal. Someone had picked the lock—was breaking in—right in front of them.

Her heart pounding, she took a step back and stared as the knob began to turn, twisting slowly as the door eased open. Behind her, John swore creatively under his breath. Then she was plucked off her feet and tucked behind his massive bulk again, so he was blocking her view of the opening door. Before she could protest or move to help protect him, John surged forward. A startled squawk from an unknown male voice jolted Molly out of her shock. She shifted to the side just in time to see a blond stranger get plucked off his feet and yanked into the house. Slamming the door closed again, John pinned the intruder against it.

“Who are you?” John demanded, the menace underlying the question making the stranger flinch back as much as possible, given that he was already mashed against the door, his backpack squashed between his back and the wood. When the man didn’t answer, John used his fistful of dress shirt to give him a solid shake.

“Stu…Stuart,” the stranger stammered. “Stuart Powers.” His last name cut off with a squeak as John jostled him again.

“What are you doing here?” Molly asked, figuring that since John had Stuart so conveniently in his grip, she should use the opportunity to question him. She was used to doing her own tackling, so this was a nice change. “Why did you break in?”

Stuart shot her a panicked glance from the corner of his eye. “I didn’t break in…” he started, cutting off when John gave him another shake. “I didn’t! The door was unlocked!”

Molly and John exchanged a look.

“Sure. It was unlocked after you picked it,” Molly said with heavy sarcasm. “Why did you break in? What were you planning on taking?”

“Nothing!” The yelp was full of indignation, but Stuart’s gaze flickered down for a fraction of a second, just long enough to tell Molly that the trespassing stranger was lying. “I go to school with Cara. I’m just dropping off some lecture notes she asked for.”

“You picked the lock in order to leave lecture notes?” The skepticism in John’s voice was thick, and Molly agreed with him. Stuart’s story was weak and full of holes. “Try again.”

“I did!” Stuart blinked rapidly, as if trying to think up a more plausible lie. “I mean, I didn’t pick the lock. I don’t even know how to do that. I was going to just leave the notes inside…”

Molly couldn’t keep her eyes from rolling. “Let’s skip over the fact that we saw you unlock the door and move on to the question of why you came all the way over here rather than just emailing or texting her your notes.”