If Not for My Baby

It’s the duet of a lifetime when a rock star and his backup singer find a new kind of harmony off stage in this sensational contemporary romance. Clementine Clark isn’t looking for love. Growing up with a single mom who weeps over a new guy each week tends to have that effect on a girl. But Clementine doesn’t mind being the rational one--she’s even buried her musical dreams so deeply within herself that she hardly notices the hole it’s left in her life. That is until her best friend calls her with a life-changing opportunity: to join Irish megastar Halloran on his first US tour as a backing vocalist. Clementine wants to reject the offer, but the pay is enough to change her and her mom’s life. Overnight, Clementine goes from serving enchiladas at the Happy Tortilla to belting high notes before a cheering crowd. But the whiplash of trading small-town Texas for sold-out stadiums< <is nothing compared to the rush of performing with the enigmatic Thomas Patrick Halloran. Poet, introvert, and lyrical genius, Halloran quickly gets under Clementine’s skin. The two couldn’t see the world more differently. And yet, over the course of the next eight weeks on tour, the romantic rockstar might just strike an unforgettable chord in Clementine. But will it be enough for an encore?

Autorentext

Kate Golden

Zusammenfassung
"Sensual, poetic, and full of delicious, excruciating yearning. If Not For My Baby is the kind of book I love to recommend to everyone in search of an emotionally resonant, profoundly romantic read. A tender, determined, heartfelt look at the vulnerable business of falling in love. Kate Golden wrote a chart topping hit worthy of Thomas Patrick Halloran." Ali Hazelwood, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Deep End

The sultry, sexy, whirlwind romance of my dreams. No one writes an earnestly yearning man quite like Kate Golden. Thomas Patrick Halloran can literally have whatever he wants. This isn t a book you re going to want to miss. *B.K. Borison, New York Times bestselling author of First-Time Caller

If Not For My Baby* is the rockstar romance of my heart. Clementine and Thomas s chemistry is palpable, and their romance is off the charts. Kate Golden s contemporary debut is a smash hit, and I hope she never stops writing them. Lana Ferguson, USA Today bestselling author of The Nanny
**
"With a romance as mesmerizingly sensual as the lead singer himself, If Not for My Baby sings! Kate Golden is ready for her turn center stage in the romance genre." Julie Soto, USA Today bestselling author of Not Another Love Song

"Nothing makes me feel quite like music does, and this passionate, angsty, tender rockstar romance from Kate Golden lit me up in all the same places. I would go anywhere with this book -- on a tour bus to every major city in America, or all the way to a castle in County Kerry. If Not for My Baby might be contemporary romance, but it reads like pure fantasy in Kate Golden's capable hands." Alicia Thompson, USA Today bestselling author of Never Been Shipped

"If Not for My Baby is lyrical and stunningly romantic. The music, the poetry, the pining! Tom and Clem are magical together, and I was rooting for their happily ever after from the start. I adored this swoony and sexy love story, and I will read anything Kate Golden writes." Sarah Hawley, USA Today bestselling author of Servant of Earth

"This book had me FERAL. Soulful. Intoxicating. Transcendent. Sign me up for anything and everything she writes next!" Jo Segura, USA Today bestselling author of Temple of Swoon

"What can't Kate Golden do? If Not for My Baby completely swept me away with its intensity, softness, and killer soundtrack. I swooned from beginning to end." Kate Goldbeck, national bestselling author of You, Again

In equal measures soulful, sexy and sweet as cherry wine, If Not For My Baby is a rhapsodic rockstar romance with a poet s heart. Golden s prose and characters can t help holding the spotlight in this romantic, unforgettable read. Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of Book Boyfriend

"Kate Golden can do it all and her first crack at contemporary storytelling is an immersive, heartfelt, and unbelievably sexy knockout. If Not For My Baby isn t just for music lovers. It s for any reader who s ever wondered how much brighter life might be if they finally got out of their comfort zone." Lauren Okie, author of The Best Worst Thing

"Painfully romantic, gorgeous, gorgeous prose, laugh out loud funny, I literally cried multiple times, INSANE original song lyrics by Ms. Golden herself... A top contender for fave read of 2025. Meg Smitherman, author of Thrum
*

• A smart, sexy rock n roll tale that delivers both heat and heart. Publishers Weekly **(starred review)

  Romantasy writer Golden s (A Dawn of Onyx) first contemporary romance is full of passion, heart, and harmony; a standout in the genre. *Library Journal* (starred review)
  **

  Leseprobe
  One

  Devoting your entire life to the pursuit of another person, when human beings are all so inherently flawed, and expecting said flawed human to fix all the broken parts of you just so you can convince yourself that you're whole is a recipe for disappointment." I reach for another chip and dunk it halfway into the salsa. "In fairness, it used to make a lot more sense. Once upon a time a woman needed a romantic partner to guarantee a roof over her head, or to put food on the table. And men needed a wife to produce an heir for their cobbling business or kingdom or whatever. Things are different now, you know? It's kind of antiquated."

  I pop the chip into my mouth. Only then do I notice the wide-eyed disbelief splattered all over the face of the man sitting in the booth across from me. His perfectly gelled hair doesn't move as he takes a slow sip of water through his straw. Mariachi music plays too loudly throughout the restaurant and embarrassment begins to creep up my neck.

  "You think love is . . . antiquated?"

  I finish chewing, trying to find the right words. "I think striving for a relationship above all else is antiquated. It seems pretty hard to find one worth keeping. And even if you're lucky enough to do so, you're still going to suffer one way or another. There are just less painful pursuits in life, don't you think?"

  "Yeah . . ." He leans back in an attempt to subtly check the time via the phone in his pocket. "I see what you're saying."

  I sigh. Hair Gel and I are not going to be a match. "It's okay, Hank-"

  "Henry."

  "Henry!" I cringe. "I knew that. Look, Henry-I can tell you aren't feeling this and that's completely fine. I'm happy to just call it now."

  Henry-not-Hank narrows his well-manicured eyebrows at me. "Call it?"

  "Yeah, you know, like a doctor calling time of death." I mime feeling my own pulse and make a yikes face.

  Henry nods like he understands but I can tell that he does not. In fact- Yeah. He thinks I'm the worst.

  "Seriously, I'd love to finish these enchiladas in peace before I have to go back to my shift. No hard feelings at all if you want to skedaddle."

  Nonplussed, Henry slides his phone and keys back into his pockets and begins to scoot ungracefully out of the booth. In his defense, there may not be a graceful way to do that. Then he halts mid-scoot. "You told me . . . You said you were a waitress. You scheduled our first date at the restaurant where you work . . . in the middle of your shift?"

  "I-" I falter for words, mouth half-filled with enchilada.

  Henry bumps his knee a little too hard on the underside of the table as he stands. He winces and I wince, too, out of secondhand phan…