It started the way many modern love stories do - a match, a few messages, and a first date: February 2nd, 2024. Neither of them was particularly looking to get married. Wendy showed up 8 minutes early; Brian was 2 minutes late... first and only time. Both of them were pretty comfortable being single, and then came her first order. Edamame, no salt. Rainbow roll. Glass of Sauvignon Blanc. Five minutes into their first date, Brian thought to himself — uh oh, I like this girl, she could be trouble. He was right on both counts. That first conversation lasted over two hours and has continued for more than two years. Their second date was Valentine's Day....no plan, no reservations, no agenda. They never got bored, and they still haven't. When Brian asked Wendy to be exclusive, he asked them to push the official date to May 1st so he could actually remember it, which meant they spent a week telling people, "I'll be in a relationship in a few days." A perfectly them beginning to a perfectly them relationship. Over the next two years, Brian became "Puerto Rican adjacent." He studied the culture, learned to cook the cuisine, heard about Bad Bunny (every day), and spent enough time in Puerto Rico that he is now even affectionate for boquetes (potholes). He came to genuinely love an island that had shaped the woman he was falling for. Wendy, for her part, has become approximately 5% Texan. She's working on it. They laugh. A lot. It has been the thread that holds everything together through the easy times and the hard ones. Because there have been hard ones. Real love always has them. But they kept talking. They kept choosing each other. A big plus is that Wendy adores two teenagers, Lyla and Quinn, who return her hugs and kisses every chance they get. Then came June 2025. Wendy's birthday party. Over fifty people, Brian took the microphone to give a speech, and Wendy — knowing his history of elaborate jokes — looked at him and said clearly and firmly, "Don't propose, dude." He proposed. She cried, she said no, she said yes, she was surprised (such a Wendy reaction). I was nervous. The video went viral among everyone who loves them. The shirts are still being considered. Different backgrounds. Different cultures. Different family structures. Not always easy, but love, trust, laughs, and respect are key, and they have not only made it work — they have made it thrive. On June 27th 2026, on the island that made Wendy who she is, surrounded by the people who love them most, they will celebrate what began casually and out of curiosity, and a two-hour conversation that never really ended. Don't propose, dude! But he did. And she feels blessed he did.