It all started at the Embassy Suites, where Rudy and I were both working—him as a charming server, and me as the front office supervisor. The first time we really connected was when Rudy sent me a message on an app. To be honest, I was hesitant at first. I had always told myself I wouldn’t date or hookup with a coworker, but there was something about his message that made me pause. What neither of us knew at the time was that our Maid of Honor’s, Maria and Phoenix, were already playing matchmakers behind the scenes! While Rudy was confiding in Maria, telling her how much he thought I was handsome, I was talking to Phoenix about the exact same thing. Neither of us had a clue that our best friends were subtly encouraging us to take the plunge and message each other back. Soon after, Rudy started stopping by the front desk—frequently. My heart would skip a beat each time he came by, but I was shy, and would barely say a word. Phoenix, being the great friend she is, would often speak for me, nudging me to open up. Then, one day, Rudy asked for my number, and from there, things just clicked. We started hanging out during lunch breaks, after work, or any free time we could carve out, laughing, drinking, and getting to know each other more with every moment. A month after our first conversation, on May 31, 2023, Rudy took me to the beautiful lake by the hotel. It was there, under the wide open sky, that he asked me out, and I said yes, knowing deep down this was something special. From that day on, we became inseparable—spending every second we could together, falling deeper in love with each other. Fast forward to today, we’re madly in love and have two beautiful kids in our lives to show for it JoJo and EeVeE. What started as a shy glance across the front desk turned into the most beautiful love story I could have ever imagined.