Darby
Honestly?
Kip could read the ingredients list on a cereal box, and I'd be all ears. That voice. I could listen to him all day.
I have my reasons for not wanting him to call the fire department, so in an attempt to shove those reasons out of my head, and since I know nothing about the guy, I start with the obvious and totally unoriginal, "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself?"
That's met with a beat of silence.
Then a cautious, "Sky hasn't told you anything about me?"
"Not really. His instructions were to come here and pick out whatever I liked without looking at the price tag, which, spoiler alert, I did anyway."
I hear a light chuckle. "I see."
"He mentioned he's good friends with the owner. Said you're a cool guy. That was about it… You're not offended, are you?" I check, since maybe I've hurt his ego. Everyone in this town has a large yet surprisingly fragile ego.
"On the contrary. I couldn't be happier."
My brow arches. If I knew the guy, or could actually see him, I'd be able to read his face to see if I could press him on that.
But since I can't, I don't.
"I was born and raised in Tupelo, Mississippi, which, fun fact, is the birthplace of Elvis. Moved to New York after graduating high school. Got into fashion, and long story short, ended up moving to LA and opening Minari."
My methodical brain works its way through the information once piece at a time. "Who's Elvis?"
"I can't tell if you're kidding or not."
I grin because I totally am. "I know who Elvis is. How come you don't have a typical Mississippi accent though?"
"It's faded over the years," Kip answers. "Comes out occasionally. Usually when I've had one too many whiskeys, which is never these days."
"Uh-huh. And you said you worked in fashion?"
"That's right."
"So you're a designer?"
He clears his throat. "No… I used to model. Back in the early 2000s."
"Cool," I reply as calmly as I can while running some numbers in my head.
If Kip was in his early twenties back then, that would make him…aged to perfection right now.
So let me review what I know about the guy so far:
He's got a great voice.
He's a good person because Sky vouched for him.
He used to be a model.
And he has to be in at least his forties.
Check. Check. Check. And check.
Hmm.
Maybe getting locked in here isn't so bad after all.