Anthony and I met the way many modern love stories begin—on Tinder. I noticed him first and swiped right, not expecting much to come of it. I sent a simple “hi,” fully prepared to be ignored… but he replied, mentioning how much he loved the photo of me and my cat, Sebastian. At that point, he had already won me over. Once we started talking, we didn’t stop. From the very beginning, it felt easy—like we had known each other for years (or at least long enough to skip the awkward small talk phase). One Saturday afternoon, while I was baking Christmas cookies with my mom, he called and asked me on a date that same night. He picked me up in his little Honda Accord, and the moment I saw him standing next to it, I realized he was somehow even taller than his pictures. We got in the car, and the first song I played on the aux was The Spins by Mac Miller—without realizing his music would later become the background noise to some of the most sentimental moments of our relationship. We drove to Vacaville for dinner at Merchant & Main and talked until they basically kicked us out. Not ready for the night to end, we went to Candy Cane Lane to look at Christmas lights. At one point, a truck full of teenage boys yelled, “Kiss Her!”—which we obviously ignored… while also not totally hating the idea. We drove back to Napa, walked the riverfront (freezing the entire time), and when he walked me to my door, we shared our first kiss. Less than five minutes later, we were already texting, trying to figure out when we could see each other again. Two days later, after his overnight shift at the emergency vet, he showed up at my place with breakfast and took me to Target to pick out a Secret Santa gift for his coworker. What started as a simple errand somehow became a tradition—because nothing says romance like wandering Target together. From there, one night a week turned into two… and eventually into “why don’t you just stay?” Somehow, without even realizing it, we built a life together in all the in-between moments. Behind the scenes, we’re goofy, a little dorky, and love our small adventures together. We’ve always chose to enjoy life quietly together, and that’s something we really value. From grocery shopping, dinner dates to playing Overwatch every night, we do everything together. Anthony is the most selfless person I know—he takes care of everyone around him, but most importantly, he takes care of me in a way no one else ever has. He brings me not just happiness, but peace, comfort, and a true sense of home. Anthony proposed in Windsor, at the Town Green—one of the places woven into our story. On one of our earlier dates there, he jokingly got down on one knee to tie his shoe, fully committing to the fake proposal. This time, he brought me back to that same spot. We were walking through the park, eating gelato from Cravin’s Candy Emporium, when suddenly our friend Trevor appeared out of nowhere and surprised me. I turned around to hug him—and in that moment, while I was distracted, he passed the ring to Anthony (very smooth). When I turned back around, Anthony was already down on one knee—in the exact same place as before, but this time, it was real. He said, “DeAnna, I love you so much. I know I’m not the one to cry—you are—but I’m here in the same shoes, same outfit, same spot… and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?” Through tears (proving his point), I said yes. We’ve known for a long time that we wanted to spend our lives together— Anthony told Sebastian our cat that he would marry me someday not even a year into our relationship, but marriage, to us, is more than just a title. It reflects everything we’ve built in the quiet moments, the laughter, the traditions, and the love we’ve chosen every single day. And this is only the beginning of our forever.