Chapter One
Ten Minutes Apart
We grew up ten minutes apart and never met. Alex in Greenwich, Daniel in Rye, separated by the Connecticut state line and a decade of near-misses. Same boarding-school summers. Same international childhoods between London and the East Coast. Same dinner-table conversations about the world beyond the zip code and seeking our fortune’s in the world. Somehow, our paths didn't cross.
Chapter Two
Separate Maps
Then we went out to find the world on our own. Alex built a career through San Francisco, London, and Tel Aviv. Daniel's route ran through New York, Berlin, Denver, and Miami. Passports stayed busy. Addresses stayed temporary. Somewhere along the way we each collected a dozen time zones' worth of friends, and the sense that the story wasn't finished yet.
Chapter Three
The Last Date
Daniel had a plane ticket out of Austin and one last event on the calendar. Alex was supposed to be the last date before the move. She turned out to be the last first date either ever needed.
Chapter Four
Waymo
First kiss, back seat of a self-driving car, somewhere on the streets of Austin. Something the grandkids will surely scoff at. The car knew where it was going. So, it turns out, did we.
Chapter Five
The Whirlwind
What happened next had the texture of a year lived at double speed. Trips together (8+ countries), not just postcards. Apartments that became one home. New jobs, new life. Sammy, our mini dachshund, appointed himself small black-and-tan referee of the whole operation. When you know, you know. We knew fast.
Chapter Six
Gradil
Which brings us to Portugal, and to you. On May 9, 2027, we're getting married at a 17th-century vineyard in the hills outside Lisbon, surrounded by the people who made both our lives possible before we made each other's. Come hungry. Come early. Come say hi to Sammy as you scroll your way down this page.