Mile High (Windy City, 1)

When tension leads to temptation at 30,000 feet. Discover the book that started the global sensation...now with bonus content.

Zanders
Chicago hockey isn’t complete without me―everyone’s favorite player to hate. I know my role, and I play it well. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy spending the majority of my game time in the penalty box before leaving the arena with a new girl on my arm each night.

What I don’t like is the new flight attendant on our team’s private plane. She works for me, not the other way around. But I’ll be sure to remind her of that, and I can guarantee, by the end of the season, she’ll be begging to quit her job.

But every road trip blurs the lines, and I can’t quite figure out if I keep pushing that flight attendant call button in order to push her buttons or if it’s more than that.

Stevie
I’ve been a flight attendant for years. I thought I’d see it all, but when my new job lands me onboard working for the most egotistical and self-righteous diva in the NHL, I start to sec-ond guess everything. Including the promise I made to myself of never hooking up with an athlete again…no matter how annoyingly tempting he may be.

Evan Zanders is unfiltered, unapologetic, and too attractive for his own good. He loves his image, but I hate everything about it.

Everything but him.

Liz Tomforde is a New York Times, Sunday Times, and #1 Amazon bestselling sports romance author whose novels offer a mix of witty banter, undeniable chemistry, a healthy dash of spice, and swoon-worthy men who look good in a uniform.

Liz’s debut series, the Windy City Series, is complete with 5 books that are being adapted for television by Amazon Studios. Her latest novel, In Her Own League, is a Windy City Series Spin-off following major league baseball’s first female team owner and Chicago’s favorite coach. Liz's next 4-book series, Wilder Woods, will take place in Northern California and feature 4 new athletes, 3 new professional sports teams, and one new family to love.

For more information, please visit Liz’s website and subscribe to her newsletter at liztomforde. com. You can also connect with Liz on Instagram @liztomforde.author.

Liz Tomforde’s Mile High is a contemporary sports romance about two people who seem completely wrong for each other at first but slowly become exactly what the other needs. The story follows Evan Zanders, a famous hockey player for the Chicago Raptors, and Stevie Shay, a flight attendant assigned to the team’s private plane. Zanders is known for being talented, arrogant, flirtatious, and impossible to ignore. He enjoys the attention that comes with being a professional athlete and has built a public image around being the charming bad boy of hockey. Stevie, on the other hand, is kind, guarded, and trying to find her place in a world that often makes her feel judged.

At the beginning of the book, Stevie is not impressed by Zanders. She sees him as cocky and self-centered, the kind of man who is used to getting whatever he wants. Zanders notices her immediately, partly because she does not fall for his usual charm. He is used to women being fascinated by him, but Stevie challenges him and keeps her distance. Their early interactions are filled with teasing, tension, and sharp banter. Zanders tries to get under her skin, while Stevie refuses to let him think he has any effect on her. This creates a slow-building attraction that neither of them can fully ignore.

Stevie is dealing with her own insecurities, especially around body image and self-worth. She has spent much of her life feeling compared to others, including her brother Ryan Shay, who is a successful professional basketball player. Being connected to a famous athlete does not make Stevie feel more confident. In many ways, it makes her feel more invisible, as if people see her only in relation to someone else. Her work as a flight attendant gives her independence, but she still struggles with feeling enough in spaces filled with glamorous people, athletes, and constant judgment.

Zanders appears confident on the outside, but the novel gradually shows that his arrogance is partly a mask. His reputation as a reckless playboy is useful for the team’s publicity, and he has leaned into that role for so long that people forget there is more to him. Behind the fame and attitude, he is lonely and emotionally guarded. He has learned to use charm and humor to avoid being vulnerable. His friendship with his teammate Maddison, his loyalty to the people he cares about, and his softer moments with Stevie reveal a more thoughtful and protective side of him.

As Stevie and Zanders spend more time together on flights and during the hockey season, their connection deepens. What begins as playful dislike turns into understanding. Zanders sees Stevie’s beauty and strength even when she struggles to see it herself. He is attracted to her not only physically but also emotionally, because she is honest with him and does not treat him like a celebrity. Stevie begins to realize that Zanders is not just the arrogant athlete she first judged him to be. He listens to her, notices the things that hurt her, and tries to support her in ways that feel genuine.

Their romance develops with a mix of humor, chemistry, and emotional vulnerability. Zanders is open about wanting Stevie, but he also learns that winning her trust requires more than flirting. Stevie has reasons to be cautious. She does not want to become another woman in Zanders’s public image, and she fears being hurt by someone who seems to live in the spotlight. Their relationship must grow in private before it can survive public attention. This tension between private feelings and public reputation is one of the main conflicts of the story.

The hockey setting adds energy and drama to the novel. Zanders’s life is shaped by games, travel, fans, media, and team expectations. His career gives him fame, but it also limits how much of himself he can show. He is expected to perform both on the ice and in front of the public. The team depends on his talent and his image, even when that image does not reflect who he truly is. Through Zanders, the story explores how fame can be both rewarding and damaging, especially when a person becomes trapped in the role everyone expects them to play.

Stevie’s emotional journey is just as important as the romance. She has to learn to believe she deserves love without changing herself to fit someone else’s idea of perfection. Zanders helps her see herself differently, but the book does not make her confidence depend only on him. Instead, her relationship with him becomes part of a larger process of accepting herself. She learns to speak up, set boundaries, and stop shrinking herself to make others comfortable. Her growth makes the love story feel more meaningful because she is not simply being rescued; she is finding her own strength.

Zanders also changes through loving Stevie. He begins to question the careless image he has allowed others to believe. Being with Stevie makes him want to be honest, responsible, and open in ways he has avoided before. He starts to understand that being loved for his real self matters more than being admired for a performance. His vulnerability becomes one of the most touching parts of the story, because the reader sees how much he wants to be chosen not as a famous hockey star, but as a man.

Like many sports romances, *Mile High* includes conflict caused by misunderstandings, pressure, and fear. Stevie and Zanders both have moments when they pull away or doubt whether their relationship can work. The difference in their lifestyles and the attention surrounding Zanders create real challenges. However, the emotional heart of the novel is their willingness to keep seeing each other clearly. They learn that love is not about pretending to be flawless; it is about being accepted in the places where they feel most vulnerable.

By the end, Mile High becomes a warm, emotional, and steamy romance about self-acceptance, trust, and finding someone who sees beyond the image. Liz Tomforde uses the grumpy-sunshine style in a fresh way, with Zanders bringing boldness and playful confidence while Stevie brings softness, honesty, and quiet strength. Their love story is full of banter, tenderness, and personal growth. More than just a hockey romance, the book is about learning that the right person will not ask you to become smaller, prettier, louder, or easier to love. They will make you feel safe enough to be fully yourself.