No Way Back (Mia's Way, #1) - By Chloe Adams Page 0,1

the pool, who thankfully doesn’t card me this time, and get another vodka cranberry. It’s tart and burns my throat as I drink it. I stand to the side and look around at the unfamiliar faces, almost ready to leave, when I see one I recognize.

Robert … Connor. My mind eventually pulls his name free. I don’t realize I’m staring at him until he looks over and meets my gaze. From what little I remember, he’s a college quarterback whose father is the head of another political dynasty and one of Daddy’s long-time allies. I’ve met Robert a few times, but not in the past several years, since he went off to college. I definitely don’t remember him looking like that!

Does he recognize me? I don’t know. He’s staring back at me.

I look down at my drink. He’s with a small group, two girls and three guys. Whichever girl is his girlfriend is lucky. He used to be tall and skinny, but he’s tall and muscular now, with his daddy’s Hollywood looks and his mother’s blue eyes.

Lost again in my thoughts, I don’t notice he’s standing beside me until he clears his throat. I jump and look up into those eyes.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” I reply. My heart is already somersaulting at how close he is. Ari would kill for the blond-haired, blue-eyed college hunk!

“I feel like I know you?” he asked.

I shrug. “Your dad’s a politician, right?”

“Oh, god!” He rolls his eyes. “Don’t tell me – you hate his politics! I run into more disgruntled people at parties than anywhere else.”

I giggle and shake my head, having run into people like that at other parties. Usually, Ari and I laugh them off and drink. Robert doesn’t seem to remember me, or he’d know my daddy isn’t from The Other Camp.

“I’m so sick of politics,” he goes on. “It’d be a shame to know I couldn’t see someone as beautiful as you because your father votes for someone other than mine.” He smiles, and dimples appear in his cheeks.

My face feels even hotter than it already is. He’s checking me out, and I straighten out of my slouch, as Mom always tells me to. Suck in my gut, pull back my shoulders, sexy pose. Just like Mom – a French actress who broke up Daddy’s first marriage – taught me.

I like what I see on Robert’s face and how warm his look makes me feel from my head to my toes. That look is the same one every guy I’ve ever known gives Ari when he sees her for the first time. No one ever notices me, when she’s around. It’s like I don’t exist.

Tonight, I do. I kinda like the feeling.

“Want another one?” Robert asks, motioning to my empty drink.

I don’t remember drinking it down so fast, but I nod eagerly. He takes the cup, and our fingers brush. I feel warm and fluttery.

“I need your ID,” he says. “Never seen any bartenders like these.”

I dig it out and hand it to him. He takes it and walks to the bartender. I watch. He talks to some other guy as he waits in line, probably one of his friends. I stare at his tight ass and long, lean legs. What a difference a couple of years make! He doesn’t seem to recognize me, though, which isn’t much of a surprise. If Ari isn’t drawing the attention of the guys I’m interested in, my mother is. I’ve been stuck in the background my whole life.

Struck by an idea, I pull my cell phone free and snap a pic of his backside to send to Ari, who is a fan of a man with a perfect butt. My fingers are clumsy, the effect of drinking, and I giggle as I mash up the words in my text to her. I finish finally and hit send just as Robert returns with a drink.

“Here you go, Julie. Long island ice tea,” he says and hands me the drink and ID.

I stare at him blankly, about to correct him for calling me Julie. Then I glance at the ID and remember.

“Will the most beautiful girl here walk towards the garden with me?” he asks.

“Garden?”

He points. For the first time, I notice the makeshift barrier acting as a wall behind the bartender. I sip my drink and nod. Robert holds out his hand. Thrilled, I take it, and we walk into the dark garden.

I trip at the spot where the cement around the pool ends and