Elena leaned back, her silver hair catching the morning light. "It’s just... a wedding at our age. Doesn't it feel like we’re reading the last chapter of a book first?"

Julian set his pen down and finally looked at her. His eyes were mapped with lines that told stories of a previous marriage, a career in law, and a decade of widowerhood before they’d met in a local pottery class.

They sat on the porch of the coastal house they’d bought three years ago—a "reckless" retirement decision that had scandalized their adult children.

"You’re thinking about the guest list again," Julian said, not looking up from his crossword.

The air in the garden didn’t smell like the staged roses of Elena’s youth; it smelled like damp earth and the sharp, honest scent of cedar. At sixty-two, she had learned that the most romantic thing in the world wasn’t a grand gesture, but the way Julian knew exactly how she took her coffee after a restless night.

"I think of it more like a sequel," he said softly. "The one where the characters are finally smart enough to know what they want. We aren't here because of biological clocks or societal pressure, El. We’re here because we actually like the way the other person thinks."