It was one of those sticky August nights in 2021—hot, humid, and buzzing with that restless, late-summer energy. People walked around like zombies, half-baked from the COVID lockdowns. Their eyes still glazed over by too much time spent trapped indoors. The last thing Kahliah Gordon was looking for when she sauntered into The Baroness Bar and Kitchen was love. She had more pressing matters at hand—like getting the transmission fixed on her white 2003 Lexus, “Carmen.” She had just knocked out a 13-hour drive to catch a quick visit with her Dad in the city. She didn’t mind. Traveling fast and alone was her way; windows down, playlists up. She was living in NC at the time. It was her first time back in NYC since everything shut down. A few of her closest friends happened to be in town that weekend too. Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe the universe was doing its thing. Enter Ben. He was behind the bar at The Baroness, sweat-soaked, cracking jokes, wearing a black t-shirt and jeans with holes that had seen better days. He was mid-shift, mid-shot of tequila when he saw her: a girl in a white sweater, glowing like a scene from a movie he didn’t know he was in. Her eyes were electric, like neon signs in a rain-soaked alley. From the moment they started talking, the noise of the bar faded. Kahliah, smart, grounded, effortlessly magnetic, wasn’t one to fall fast. But something about Ben made her pause—just long enough to wonder "what if." He made her laugh. He saw her. They didn’t make a big deal out of it. Just traded numbers. Simple. No pressure. But the next night, they talked. Then the night after that. And suddenly, casual drinks turned into long walks, long talks, and a slow, steady dropping of walls. Conversations went deep—spirituality, family, the past, the future. The kind of talks where you either get closer or never speak again. They got closer. Kahliah found herself doing things she’d never imagined: fishing at sunrise, learning to hold a rifle, standing in the stillness of the woods with a kind of trust that felt brand new. And when the sun set, Ben would check her for ticks under a headlamp with more care than most people give to wedding proposals. Ben made a space for Kahliah to explore the wild within. So wild, and yet, so safe. And Ben? He was all in. Now traveling alongside Kahliah to her favorite Long Island hideaways, he was swapping out his evening whiskey with an extra hot lavender matcha latte. Reading Scripture in cafés. Learning to cook with curry and callaloo. He was being changed—not by force, but by love. By someone who made him want to be softer, better, more present. Kahliah's introspective nature challenged Ben to listen past the words. The silence between them spoke loud and clear. The simplicity of it all—the way they relied on each other—was enough to make them feel like they had found something real. Something worth keeping. They're not perfect. They’ve had their moments—tough ones. But they’ve faced them, talked through them, and grown because of them. Their love isn’t some fairy tale. It’s real. And rooted. And full of grace. And now? You’re part of the story. Because on May 16th, they didn't just saying “I do”—they jumped in, hand in hand, ready for all of it. Because love isn’t just about timing. It’s about showing up. Choosing each other. Over and over again. And they’re choosing each other—forever.