It was the height of the pandemic, a wild time to cross paths. I’d just moved to Miami to dive into a master’s in Marine Conservation, while Tim was up in New Jersey, acing his CPA studies and gearing up for a career in New York City’s public accounting world. We were living totally different lives in totally different places. One October weekend, my best friends from the University of Florida shared that their cousin’s family had bought a new house in my hometown and were hosting a party. I was visiting that weekend and decided to swing by. When I walked in, I greeted my friends, and they introduced me to their cousin, Tim. The moment our eyes met, my heart skipped a beat, and it was love at first sight. From that moment, we were destined to be each other’s forever plus-one.

Tim took me to our favorite restaurant, La Mar. It’s a special place for us since we went there after saying “I love you” for the first time and we celebrated our second anniversary there just after moving in together. It’s right on Brickell Key, where we got our first apartment together and still live today. We had a lovely dinner together, reminiscing and enjoying the moment. Then, just as dessert arrived, Tim surprised me with the sweetest question of all, and of course, I said yes.