diff --git a/src/lib/server/orders-service.test.ts b/src/lib/server/orders-service.test.ts
index 4610136..9775cfe 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/orders-service.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/orders-service.test.ts
@@ -2674,6 +2674,7 @@ describe("setOrderQuote", () => {
 describe("setOrderQuote line pairing", () => {
   it("pairs order lines to the quote's lines after writing the hard link", async () => {
     const { pairOrderLines } = await import("./order-quote-link-service");
+    vi.mocked(pairOrderLines).mockClear();
     await pbMock.collection("quotes").create({ id: "q-1" });
     await pbMock.collection("orders").create({
       id: "o-1", order_number: "ORD-1", quote: "", created: "2026-08-21T00:00:00Z",
@@ -2690,6 +2691,7 @@ describe("setOrderQuote line pairing", () => {
 
   it("does not fail the link when pairing throws", async () => {
     const { pairOrderLines } = await import("./order-quote-link-service");
+    vi.mocked(pairOrderLines).mockClear();
     vi.mocked(pairOrderLines).mockRejectedValueOnce(new Error("PB down"));
 
     await pbMock.collection("quotes").create({ id: "q-1" });
diff --git a/src/lib/server/orders-service.ts b/src/lib/server/orders-service.ts
index 9a859e7..ea90d3f 100644
--- a/src/lib/server/orders-service.ts
+++ b/src/lib/server/orders-service.ts
@@ -3721,12 +3721,19 @@ export async function setOrderQuote(
   const previous: { quote: string } = { quote: existing.quote || "" };
 
   // Idempotent no-op when the order already points at this quote.
-  // Don't write, don't stamp — just return the order as-is. Pairing
-  // still runs on this path: it's safe to repeat (confident pairs
-  // are only ever added, never overwritten) and it's the only way
-  // to pick up lines that were added or edited after the original
-  // link was made — e.g. a re-run of `orders.set_quote` used purely
-  // to refresh pairing.
+  // Don't write `orders.quote`, don't stamp — just return the order
+  // as-is. Pairing still runs on this path: it's safe to repeat
+  // (confident pairs are only ever added, never overwritten by
+  // `pairOrderLines`), so there's no reason to skip it here.
+  //
+  // Note this doesn't buy as much as it might look like: the
+  // strict-pending gate above already refuses the call the moment any
+  // line has moved past `pending`, so this path only re-runs pairing
+  // while every line is still pending — the exact window in which
+  // lines are least likely to have drifted since the original link.
+  // It's a real but narrow benefit (e.g. a line added right after
+  // linking, before anything progressed), not a general "refresh
+  // pairing any time" mechanism.
   if (previous.quote === quoteId) {
     const fresh = await pb.collection(ORDER_COLLECTION).getOne<Order>(orderId);
     await pairOrderLinesSafely(orderId, quoteId);
@@ -3766,11 +3773,13 @@ ${stamp}` : stamp;
  *
  * `console.error` is the only trace of a pairing failure right now —
  * there's no user-facing surface for "the link worked but pairing
- * didn't." That's an acceptable gap for this task (see the plan's
- * notes on watch-for #4) but worth revisiting if silent pairing
- * failures turn out to be common in practice — e.g. surfacing them
- * via the `potential_quote` suggestion machinery or an operator-visible
- * warning instead of only a server log line.
+ * didn't." That's a deliberate gap for this task: adding one means
+ * either a new field on `SetOrderQuoteResult` or a new field on the
+ * order record, and plumbing it through to the UI/API/MCP callers —
+ * real scope beyond this two-file change. Worth revisiting if silent
+ * pairing failures turn out to be common in practice — e.g. surfacing
+ * them via the `potential_quote` suggestion machinery or an
+ * operator-visible warning instead of only a server log line.
  */
 async function pairOrderLinesSafely(orderId: string, quoteId: string): Promise<void> {
   try {