Page 19 of Head Over Heels

Katie snatches it away and sets it on the coffee table, out of my reach. “Frogs don’t have phones.”

“I need my phone to video your father!”

“Frogs can’t talk,” Chase says gleefully.

I dart a dark look his way. “Please,” I beg Katie. “The world needs to see this.”

“Frogs can’t talk,” Katie echoes.

Chase is laughing so hard it’s impeding his prancing. I clamp my lips shut to hide my own smile.

“You see the frog, Princess Daddy,” Katie instructs. “You look down and see him sitting on a lily pad.

“The princess looks down at the frog and the frog looks up at the princess,” Katie intones. “And even though the frog is really, really ugly—”

Chase snickers. I stick my tongue out at him.

“Is that why you didn’t want to be the frog?” I ask Katie. “Because he’s ugly? Because beauty is only skin deep, you know. I’m full of inner beauty.”

I felt the need to get that point in there. I give Chase aso therelook, and he gives me aso whatlook back.

“Yeah. Elsa is beautiful. The frog is ugly.”

“But once I’m a prince I’ll be really handsome, right?”

“No. You’ll still be really ugly. Like the Beast. And then we’ll have to figure out how to lift the other spell on you. The ugly spell. That’s why we need the ice castle.”

This is a very fractured fairy tale. And I am definitely getting the short end of the narrative stick.

“But Princess Daddy will be beautiful the whole time?”

“Yup. And even though the frog is really, really ugly, Princess Daddy can see his inner beauty. You have tolook at each other!” she shouts. “You have to fall madly in love!”

I challengeanyoneto disobey a determined five-year-old whose mom died two months ago. Chase and I do what anyone would do in this situation. We look at each other. And pretend to lock eyes and fall madly in love.

Chase’s eyes, as I’ve mentioned, are beautiful, flecked with color. And full, at the moment, of undisguised glee. But as we stare at each other, something shifts. His eyes get serious. And dark. And—

Huh.He’s a good actor.

Chase is full of unexpected talents.

Chapter 9

Chase

“…And then you divide by the number of innings pitched…”

My Saturday night date, Ava, is explaining to the little boy sitting a couple of seats over how to calculate the ERA stat. His dad tried, but hit a wall, so she took over.

We’re at Safeco Field, sitting side by side. It’s a blue-sky, sunny summer evening, and, well, I’m honestly kind of a mess.

Ava is, at least on paper, my perfect woman.

She loves sports. When I PM’d her on the online dating site to ask,Baseball game?she immediately texted back,OMG, are you for real? Ilovebaseball. Buy me a hot dog and some Cracker Jacks and I’m all yours.

That might be two check boxes, actually:loves sportsandeats real food.

Plus, if you count “I’m all yours” as a come-on—which I do, being a guy—you might even be able to check a third box:not shy about sex.

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