We took a chance on love when the world was going through a pandemic. We met on the dating app Match, and our journey began with Brea sending the simple message of “hi." After several messages and Google searches to make sure we were not in danger, lol, we decided to go on our first date at the Museum of Contemporary Art. To Roger’s surprise, Brea showed up with her arm in a sling! She suffered a work injury but still went on the date. Her first words were, “I hope this is not a deal breaker?” We both laughed and knew at that very moment we would have a good time. That first date led to many more dates, including trips to Starved Rock, Detroit, New York, and California. We even got a few new stamps in our passports! After four years of great meals, romantic walks, binging T.V. shows, and plenty of laughs, we decided to take the big leap of spending the rest of our days together!

Roger surprised me with a trip to Napa Valley for my birthday! Although it sounds very romantic, he only told me to bring sun dresses and a hat! Lol I was very stressed in packing for this mystery trip. Once we arrived to Napa Valley, I was over the moon! This wasn’t our first time, but this was our first time during their harvesting or crushing season! How fitting for our love story since I was there with my forever crush and unbeknownst to me, my soon to be FIANCÉ! During the trip, we had relaxing moments by the pool, tried treats and snacks at local markets, hiked, danced, and had romantic dinners. It truly was a perfect getaway. I will never forget the day he proposed to me. It was my birthday and he picked the dress he wanted me to wear. We had a lovely breakfast and then went on a vineyard tour! The tour consisted of six couples and after a couple of tastings, we were all great friends! The tour stopped to have lunch at one of the vineyards and Roger stepped away to take a phone call. He came back to the table and began to “stress” about work. He asked me to walk with him so he could clear his head. Although I didn’t want to leave my wine, lol, I remembered feeling so honored that after a frustrating call he wanted to talk to me. He took my hand and we walked to a very pretty area of the winery, over looking the mountains. Before I knew it, he was on one knee, asking me to be with him forever! Napa will always be special to us. I got engaged to my forever crush during Napa’s crushing season!!