How We Met: From Brian Willoughby   Who says you can’t find love on a dating app? Dara and I matched on Hinge one Sunday in February 2024. The next day, I had the day off and was relaxing at my favorite beer bar on the Upper East Side when I messaged her to see if she’d like to grab a coffee or cocktail. Dara happened to be working from home and already had plans to meet a former coworker for drinks in SoHo later that evening. So, we decided to meet before that, at Dante’s on MacDougal. Wanting to make a good impression, I threw on a suit, just in case she was dressed up.   I arrived first and got seated at the communal table. I texted Dara, letting her know I was near the entrance by the coffee bar, and asked what she’d like to drink. When she walked in, I noticed her right away as she approached the guy sitting across from me. She asked him, “Hi, are you Brian?” Before he could answer, I quickly said, “Hi, I’m Brian.” Dara gave me a glare that said, “Excuse me, can’t you see I’m on a date?”   Once we sat down, though, everything started to flow naturally. Our drinks arrived—her signature skinny spicy margarita and my Manhattan—and we ordered a flatbread. Conversation came easily, and before I knew it, it was 7:00 p.m., time for Dara’s coworker to arrive. I didn’t want the date to end, but her coworker showed up right on time. “Ruh roh,” I thought. Awkward as it was, I stayed and made conversation with him. When the server came over, I thanked Dara for a lovely evening, said goodnight, and headed out. Dara shook my hand, and as I walked to the train, I thought, “Well, I guess I’ll never see her again.”   But I did. We went on several dates around NYC, enjoying dinners at Don Angie’s, comedy shows, and sushi at KazuNori.   How We Met, Continued: From Dara Leung   One Saturday, Brian and I spent the entire morning together. We had breakfast at my favorite diner, S&P, where we shared a Lil’ Shonda sandwich over coffee. Afterward, we strolled down to the Union Square Farmers Market. Brian told me about his childhood working at farmers market stands for his parents’ fruit business. “This was me every Saturday as a kid,” he said, describing how he’d wake up at 2 a.m. to load boxes of fruit onto trucks and spend 12-hour days selling fruit.   “No way,” I thought. I’d spent my own childhood working weekends at a flea market, helping my aunt run her jewelry stand. Discovering this shared experience made me realize just how much we had in common. Who else could understand the unique life of a weekend market kid? It was fun to have a job as a young person, but it also meant giving up Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays during our teenage years.   Fast Forward to the Summer…   In August 2024, we took our first vacation together to the South of France. After a series of playful decoys, including a Tiffany’s box containing a pen (no ring!) and a personalized New York Times-themed crossword puzzle, Brian proposed to me while we overlooked the gorgeous French Riviera from a mountaintop in Èze.   When we returned home on Labor Day weekend, after a nine-hour flight, Brian suggested we go out for a nice dinner to cap off the trip. Despite my protests that the Uber was heading in the wrong direction (I thought we were going to L’Artusi), we pulled up to Dante’s on MacDougal—the site of our first date. Inside, all of our friends from NYC were waiting for a surprise engagement party!