Last summer, I agreed to participate in a dating challenge called Spicy Girl Summer with a group of friends here in Dallas — the rules were simple: one date a month or you owe the whole group coffee. Easy enough, right? Well, as the end of the first month crept up on me, I realized I hadn’t gone on a single date. Panic set in. Not because I was desperate for romance, but because I really didn’t want to buy everyone’s coffee. So, naturally, I texted my friend Mary to complain. I knew that Mary had a lot of brothers who she always spoke so highly of, but I somehow had never met any of them. She quickly replied "In a panic, you and John can go get coffee on April 30th😂" To my own surprise I replied "I would agree to that!" A few days later, Mary and I made plans to grab drinks at Birdie’s Eastside with some friends, and my dog, Daisy. What I didn’t know until we got there was that she’d invited John to join us. I remember immediately thinking how kind and funny he was. We hit it off almost immediately. I was totally smitten, and so was Daisy. Over the next few weeks, there were more casual group hangouts, but somehow, he and I always ended up in our own world, talking and laughing like we’d known each other for years. I even went to see him perform at one of his improv shows — where of course he was the funniest one! Eventually (with a little help from me making sure he had my number), he asked me out. Our first official date lasted five hours. By the end of it, we both knew — this wasn’t just a date. This was it. We found the one our heart had been waiting for.

John proposed on Christmas morning — and let me tell you, I was completely caught off guard. He had been very convincing in his efforts to throw me off. For weeks, he assured me that a proposal wouldn’t be happening until January or February. “Still working on the ring,” he’d say casually whenever I tried to fish for clues. So, by the time Christmas rolled around, I had fully let go of the idea. Even when friends excitedly questioned if I thought he would do it Christmas Day, I would reply "That would be amazing! But, I know it's not happening." Christmas morning arrived, and John came over to my apartment so we could do our own little gift exchange before heading to his family’s house later. We settled in next to the twinkling tree, warm coffee in hand — the coziest kind of morning. Under the tree were three gift bags from John. I reached for the first one and pulled out an adorable stuffed animal (he knows I’m a sucker for those). I smiled and thanked him, already content. Then I opened the second bag… and paused. “Wait… isn’t this the ornament I helped you pick out for Paige?” I asked, holding it up with a confused laugh. John’s eyes widened. “Oh shoot! I must’ve grabbed the wrong bag!” I shrugged it off — easy mistake — and reached for the third. But this one also looked very familiar. Another gift I’d helped him pick out… for someone else. Now I was officially confused. Two wrong gifts? He started rustling around the room, muttering that he must’ve left my actual presents in the car or maybe even at his house. My heart sank just a little. Then suddenly, like something clicked, he stopped and said, “Wait! I remember where I put it.” He reached behind him, opened my TV console, and pulled out a small blue box. Then — before I could fully register what was happening — he dropped to one knee. My jaw dropped. He looked at me with that smile of his and asked me to marry him. And just like that, I burst into tears. It was the best Christmas gift I’ve ever received. We drove to his family’s house afterward, still floating, and got to surprise everyone with the news. The next day we drove down to see my family and got to relive sharing the happy news all over again! And as if it couldn’t get any better, John had secretly set up my pet cam beforehand — so the whole thing was caught on video. I still go back and watch it just to relive the pure joy on our faces.