My smile was genuine now. Sure, her husband was basically Daddy Warbucks who’d bought our presence here, but her excitement couldn’t have been more real.
“I’m really going to sing for you.” I poked Adam’s shoulder. “And this beast is going to play guitar if that’s okay with you?”
She threw herself at her husband, thanking him by swallowing his face in a kiss. When he grabbed two handfuls of her ass, I tugged Adam toward the area that had been set up for our performance.
Facing away from the party, he brushed my hair away from my ear and whispered, “Don’t chop off my dick in my sleep.”
“I can’t believe you threw me under the bus.”
His hands went up in innocence. “I had no fucking idea Goodman basically has a security company on retainer. Can you admit it’s not the worst thing ever?”
My eyes narrowed into razor-sharp slits. “I will never admit that, and you know why.” I jerked my chin at his guitar case leaning against the wall. “Strap that baby on and let’s get this over with. I’ll let you pick the movie at home.”
He slung the guitar strap across his body and dropped his head to softly pluck the strings. “You little liar.”
“Maybe.” I slipped on my finger cymbals, humming to warm up my throat.
Our stage was just a corner between the living and dining rooms. LED candles had been placed in a semicircle around us, pink rose petals strewn on the floor.
“Ready?” I whispered.
When Adam peered up at me from his guitar, gone was the boy next door, replaced by the sneering, edgy rocker who had played beside me for years.
I cupped the mic in both hands, giving it a tap. “Hello, beautiful people.”
Adam shredded a chord on his guitar in greeting to our audience. These weren’t our people. I could only hope they paid us the courtesy of their attention through our three songs. If they didn’t…well, I’d had to perform in front of many disinterested audiences over the years. I would screech and sing so loud they’d have no choice but to shut their mouths and listen.
“Hiya, beautiful people. I’m Iris, and that’s Adam. We’re here to celebrate the stunningly beautiful and achingly lovely Vanessa Goodman.” There were a few claps and murmurs, but not the warm reception we’d grown used to. I shrugged, not letting it get to me.
Meeting Adam’s eye over the mic, a sardonic smile tugged at my lips. This was going to be interesting.
“Here we go.”