Three words: Single. Dad. Romance. Enough said.

Just kidding. If I ever felt like I’d said enough, I wouldn’t have this blog. This week, I read the third book in Liz Tomforde’s Windy City Series, Caught Up. If you read my first article on hockey romance, then you read my review of the first book in this series, Mile High. I’m proud to say that my first article influenced my roommate and her girlfriend (edit: ex-girlfriend now…) to read Mile High, and now I’ve got them hooked for the whole series. Sigh. My influence, am I right?

The Windy City Series focuses on a series of sports romances all taking place in, you guessed it, the Windy City, also known as Chicago! Sad to say, the infamous “Bean” is never mentioned, but these books are so good that I almost forgot about it. Caught Up focuses on MLB pitcher Kai Rhodes and his team, the Windy City Warriors. Kai’s got a killer fastball and a good relationship with his catcher, Travis, that keeps his name circulating in the MLB circuit. 

A year before the novel takes place, a woman Kai used to sleep with drops off a baby at his door and leaves him to raise the child on his own. Kai has to become a completely different person; he loses the playboy act, cleans up his reputation, and becomes the dad that he and his younger brother, Isaiah, never had. Safe to say, his son, Max, is one of the luckiest toddlers in the world.

The first time Kai sets his eyes on the female protagonist is when she is double-fisting Coronas in his hotel elevator. What Kai doesn’t know is that Miller Montgomery, daughter of Kai’s coach, Monty Montgomery, had just quit her job after being sexually harassed and really needed a beer with her dad. Was it 9 a.m.? Yes. Do I judge her? No. I support women’s rights, but most importantly, I support women’s wrongs. 

Kai is bouncing his baby idly on his hip when Miller makes a good first impression on Max. It only happens that Kai is in desperate need of a nanny that he doesn't feel the need to fire immediately and Miller needs a summer job. When Monty finds out about both of their predicaments, in a selfish act to keep his daughter around, he sets up the arrangement, and our rom-com is born.

That job Miller quit? Oh, she’s only an incredibly talented dessert chef who’s being featured on the cover of Food & Wine magazine in two months and the winner of the infamous James Beard Award (a fictitious award for awesome chefs). But, she’s lost her magic touch— being a line cook in fancy restaurants has lost its appeal and she needs a break before she dives into four more years of restaurant bookings. So, she agrees to her dad’s plan and begins nannying for Kai.

Miller and Kai are instantly attracted to one another. There’s amazing banter and constant flirting, and Kai comes out of this single-dad shell and opens up his heart bit by bit to Miller. The only problem… Miller is going to Los Angeles in two months and can’t settle down in Chicago, even if she accidentally falls in love with Kai.

There were multiple points in this book that made me cry. There are conversations about found family, adoption, love going beyond bloodlines, and learning to love ourselves for more than our accomplishments. Miller is a badass with an insurmountable amount of guilt that she has to heal before she can truly give herself to Kai. And Kai still needs to heal his fear that he’s failing Max as his father. 

Now, let’s talk about my favorite part: the smut. Kai is six foot four. And you know what they say about height… and feet… and fingers…. Safe to say, Miller is one happy woman. There’s one scene that really stood out to me— when they made love before Miller finally had to leave for LA. There’s something so intimate about these two characters and watching their declarations of love through physical intimacy was beautiful. 

I hate sports most of the time, but for Liz Tomforde, I will willingly read about baseball terms. Touchdown!

See you next read,

Charlotte

Photograph: Pinterest