Mile High (Windy City, #1)

Liz Tomforde’s Mile High is a contemporary romance novel originally self-published in 2022. The novel is the first installment in Tomforde’s Windy City series, which occupies the sports romance subgenre. Mile High traces the developing romance between the professional hockey “bad boy” Evan Zanders and a down-to-earth flight attendant named Stevie Shay. The more time the unlikely pair is forced to spend with one another on the Chicago Raptors’ private jet, the more the couple’s complex dynamic unleashes revelations about their tumultuous pasts, inciting explorations of The Lingering Impact of Trauma, The Tension Between Public and Private Personas, and The Transformative Power of Love.

This guide refers to the 2022 independently published paperback edition of the novel.

Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide include descriptions of personal trauma and emotional abuse.

Plot Summary

The Raptors, Chicago’s premier hockey team, have just begun their season. Teammates and best friends Evan Zanders and Eli Maddison board the team’s plane to travel to their first away games. Eli is married to Logan Maddison, with whom he has two kids, and he hates being away from home. Zanders is the troublemaker in the hockey world and likes away games because he enjoys sleeping with an array of beautiful women during his travels. On board the team’s private jet, Zanders and Maddison meet their new flight attendant crew, which includes the feisty Stevie Shay. Zanders immediately starts flirting with Stevie, who pushes back, uninterested in dealing with yet another cocky athlete.

Stevie’s twin brother, Ryan Shay, is a professional basketball player; she used to date his best friend, Brett. After Brett broke up with her and she overheard him slandering her in the locker room, she swore never to date another man like him. However, she now finds herself growing increasingly attracted to Zanders, and even though she dislikes his self-involved attitude, she gradually gets glimpses of his true personality when they run into each other outside the context of work.

Back in Chicago, Stevie and Zanders discover that they are also neighbors. Stevie is living with Ryan in his penthouse. Eli and his family live in the same building. Zanders’s penthouse is right across the street; because he visits the Maddisons often, he and Stevie start to encounter each other whenever they’re in the city for home games. On Halloween, Stevie is shocked to see Zanders trick-or-treating with Maddison’s daughter. She is even more surprised when he visits Senior Dogs of Chicago, the dog shelter where she volunteers. She starts to wonder who the real Zanders is and why he hides his softer side from the world.

The narrative reveals that Zanders grew up in Indiana with his parents and sister, but when he was a teenager, his mother abandoned the family to marry a wealthier man. Afterwards, Zanders’s dad disappeared into his work, leaving Zanders alone and forgotten. He has been in therapy since college, but he still struggles to love himself and let people see who he really is. He also fears that he will lose his fanbase if he doesn’t maintain his bad-boy façade.

One night, Stevie and Zanders decide to sleep together. They have realized their physical attraction and believe that having sex might alleviate the tension between them. Instead, their sexual encounter brings them closer together. Over the following weeks, they start to see each other more regularly, but they have to keep their relationship secret to ensure that Stevie doesn’t lose her job and that Zanders’s team re-signs him. After the paparazzi catch them together, Zanders breaks up with Stevie, terrified that his reputation will hurt her career prospects. Devastated, Stevie quits her job and makes plans to move to Seattle. Meanwhile, Zanders’s friends encourage him to let go of his professional façade and win Stevie back.

After the Raptors win the Stanley Cup Finals, Stevie and Zanders try to find one another and make amends. Zanders finally locates Stevie at the dog shelter and begs for her forgiveness. They profess their love for one another and promise to resolve their vocational conflicts. Not long afterward, Chicago re-signs Zanders, and Stevie moves in with him. The Raptors organization also starts backing the dog shelter, which allows Stevie to work there full-time. Meanwhile, Stevie and Zanders confront their personal traumas and start to pursue healing with their families.