He laughs easily, stretching out his legs and glancing at the sketchbook on the table. “Well, I don’t really work in fashion, I just deal with a lot of brands. Speaking of, you looked pretty absorbed with that. What is it? Are you designing a line or something?”

“What, these?” Now it’s my turn to be confused. This is the second time in two days that someone has asked me outright if I’m a fashion designer… which is crazy! “No, no. This is just mind-numbing doodling for me.”

“May I?”

For a second, I hesitate to let him see it, for that reason precisely. This isn’t anything serious.

“I’ve never even studied design formally,” I say, sliding the notebook over to him. “I mean, I’ve always drawn imaginary outfits for fun, like when I’m waiting alone at an airport for a delayed flight…” I know I’m rambling, but I find myself weirdly curious about what Alex will think. After all, clearly he’s not a stranger to the fashion world. He’s part of it, at least on the business end of things. Though, something tells me that even if Alex handled financials for fishing bait and tackle companies, I’d still want to share my fashion sketches with him. I’d want to hear his opinions. I try not to linger too long on what that means. On how good it feels just to hear his voice in person, instead of in my head and over text.

He flips through the pages, his eyes focused and intent. I watch him look at every sketch, trying to read his facial expressions. Does he think they’re totally amateur? Is he trying to figure out how to let me down easy? I twist my fingers in my lap, waiting for his verdict. Finally, he closes the sketchbook and looks up at me.

“Rachel, these are good,” he says seriously. “Very good. I mean, the silhouettes on these two look a little familiar, but then this one is something I’ve never really seen before and then this…” He holds up the last one. “This one is just, I don’t know how to put it. It’s just very you. Which is, from my limited understanding, the whole point of design, right? To have a voice.”

I flush with surprise. “Really?”

“Of course,” he says, nodding, like he’s just assessed something as simple as the weather.