Without A Hitch - Book 1: clean romance novels

By Kent Hamilton

Some say that love must blossom and grow; it cannot simply appear in a moment and last forever.

But is this really true?

 There are countless anecdotes that compete with this notion. This is one such story...

John is a tennis coach with few rambunctious students, a dog, and parents who want more from him and aren't afraid to tell him so. Everyone tries to match him up, but he can't see the point. His dates never seem to click on an emotional level. That is until he meets Kari in an unexpected way.

Kari Goodbar is a baker who has no remaining family after her husband has died, except for the child she is carrying. Is there any room for romance in such a life? She doesn't think that she can date at this point in her life, or that anyone would want to be with her. But she's wrong.

John and Kari's meeting is unexpected, and not exactly ideal. They fall in love in an instant, but their relationship falls apart just as quickly. Their stubbornness separates them, but true love can't be foiled by something so basic. They are both face the reality that the lives they had been living were incomplete. They do not want to go back to how things were before; they want to spend their lives together.  When they finally get their act together…

Will it be too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Heirs Publishing Company
• Release date: Nov 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386707141

Kent Hamilton

Author Kent Hamilton has always had a natural flair for writing, right from his school years. A student of Columbia University, he has over 15 years of writing experience and is an avid reader of clean romance, dramatic fiction and the classics. Kent passion for evoking raw emotion and his honest representation of the human experience makes his work relatable to his readers. He enjoys drawing on the experiences of his surroundings, observing the behaviors of others and combining this with a healthy dose of imagination. He is a keen communicator with an eye for detail and this is reflected in his writing. Having written short stories since he was a teenager, Kent also contributes to online blogs and enjoys reviewing novels from new and established authors. He is constantly open to learning new things and thrives on reading fiction that evokes emotion and stimulated the senses. Prior to writing his clean romance novel Without a Hitch, Kent spent several years traveling around Australia where he met his current partner. He lives with her and their one year old daughter and his other passions include cooking, photography and film. Without a Hitch is a novel that questions the notion of true, lasting love and draws the reader into the hearts of its protagonists. Kent has recently started another romance story which he hopes to publish next year.

Book preview

Chapter One

Kari looked at her watch and tapped the reflective glass casing anxiously. She hated waiting rooms, always had. She remembered how her father used to always distract her as best he could while she waited to get her booster shots. He would scrunch up his face and do his Wicked Witch of the West impression at the top of his lungs, his voice reaching a crescendo at I’ll get you my pretty! He never seemed to mind the stares from the rest of the waiting room as long as Kari was cheered up by it. When she got older he moved on to tying his t-shirt off at his belly button and singing Britney Spears. Kari dabbed at the corner of her eyes. This was not the moment to cry.

She was in the waiting room by herself. Her father was not around to comfort her, and neither was anybody else. She was alone, and had to come to terms with that. She hugged her purse to her chest and rocked back and forth gently. She saw the receptionist look up from her keyboard and give her a wan smile through the sliding plastic windows. These were the windows that protected her from the gaze of crying women like Kari. Would her name ever be called or would she have to sit and reminisce until she inevitably cried into her own palms in the parking lot? Her best friend Mary had tried to convince her to bring someone along. They sat together every Saturday morning in Mary’s breakfast nook, sipping on hot tea and talking over problems, mostly Kari’s.

It’s not the sort of thing you want to do alone. Let me come with you, or Roderick, take him along. He’ll play pretend husband. You know how you get. You need company.

Kari sighed deeply and blew on her tea. Mary meant well, but taking along her friend’s husband to her ultrasound was just about the most depressing thing she could think of.

Thanks. And I know Rod would be great, but I’ll go alone. I’ll bring you a picture and you can pretend to think the reddish blob is cute.

You’re sure about this?

I am.

Well just know that we’re here for you through this. All the way.

Mary put her palm on top of her best friend’s hand and looked her straight in the face.

Kari smiled in the waiting room. She wasn’t alone. Not quite. The heavy wooden door adjacent to the plastic windows opened and a pretty, black nurse stood in the doorway holding a chart.

Goodbar?

Kari nodded.

Right this way.

She allowed herself to be led down the drably carpeted hallway and through the usual motions. She had her height and weight taken, the latter changed for the first time in ten years. She sat down on the crinkly white-papered bed and answered questions about herself and her entirely extinguished family tree. That was how her family existed to her now: a collection of ailments and genetic variations that she had to repeat to doctors, ciphers of their once tangible existence.

The doctor will be in shortly. The nurse smiled warmly at her.

Kari wondered if the nurse had children. Did they have her pretty, upturned nose? Did they walk with practiced, active strides? Perhaps they took more after their father. Kari’s mind was a mess of questions. She tried and failed to focus her attention on the posters and anatomical models that she assumed were all manufactured in 1990 and never again. It was as if every item in every doctor’s office in America was manufactured in one plant in the early nineties. The plant shut down, leaving doctor’s offices with hopelessly unfashionable posters and models until the end of time. This thought was allowed to fade away as the door opened and Dr. Wu came in the room.

Shall we get started?

She did not cry. She clutched the envelope in one hand and her purse in the other. She was sitting in her car. She hadn’t left the parking lot of the doctor’s office. Her cellphone was on speaker and the phone in Mary’s kitchen rang three times before being picked up.

Come right over.

They did not open the envelope until the kettle whistled and their teabags sighed as the boiling water was poured over. They each pulled the teabags up and down a few times. The envelope was between them.

May I? Mary asked.

Yes.

She opened the envelope and pulled out the glossy paper. They had each joked about the blurry pictures, but tears ran down Mary’s face as she looked at them. Kari cried at the sight of her best friend crying.

Well aren’t we a mess, Mary said, setting the pictures down on top of the envelope. But they’re just—

I know, Kari said.

Just lovely.

It’s a boy. I’ve been thinking, or I was you know, on the way over here. What if—

Oh Kari.

What if he looks like him?

That would be wonderful wouldn’t it?

What if I can’t do it? What if I look at him and can only think of Mark? What if my child only serves the purpose of reminding me that my husband has died?

There was a silence between the two friends. Kari was ashamed of her outburst of emotion, but she had not been untruthful.

He’ll be a reminder that part of him is still alive, Kari. That’s what he’ll be. I know it.

Well there’s at least one plus to all of this, Kari said, wiping her eyes and smiling, trying her best to lighten the mood.

What’s that?

It effectively ends my dating career. Will make life a lot easier.

Kari, you’re twenty-seven. You have your whole life ahead of you. You will find someone else.

Not one of your setups I hope. Lord, that was half the reason I got married in the first place. I had to avoid those like the plague.

They laughed uproariously. Mary’s history as a matchmaker was checkered to say