Candice & James’ story begins in the most romantic place imaginable… Wawa. Neither of them even goes to that Wawa normally, but clearly this run-in was meant to be. **Candice’s version:** It was early, I was in a rush, and I was at the self-checkout trying to hurry up so I could get to the Richmond Assembly Hall on time. Somewhere between scanning snacks and mentally panicking, I heard a random voice say, “I like your dress.” I said thank you without really looking up and kept it moving. **James’ version:** I noticed her immediately and thought, “Where is she going this early, all dressed up?” On my way out, I told her I liked her dress. She gave me a look (she calls it neutral, I call it stank), said thank you, and walked off. I was instantly intrigued. Fast forward to the Assembly Hall. **Candice:** I’m rushing around trying to find seats that meet my picky friend’s standards, sweating and flustered, when a guy approaches me and says, “I saw you at Wawa this morning.” In my head I’m like, “Sir 👀??” …until it clicks that this is the dress-compliment guy. He introduces himself as James. We exchange polite conversation (we are, after all, in Jehovah’s house) and then sit in an awkward silence while he stares at me. I walk away thinking nothing of it… yet. **James:** I spotted her saving seats and knew it was definitely the Wawa girl. What are the chances? I thought the introduction went great, I was very smooth. As the day goes on, we keep “randomly” running into each other. **Candice:** I notice James while I’m talking to a sister from my hall—very casual, very subtle, very cutesy, very demure. We chat again, and now I can tell he’s interested… which suddenly makes me interested. Naturally, I send my friend Stephanie on recon (which was pointless, because James had already told me everything she came back with in our first five minutes of conversation). By lunchtime, he’s popped up again while I’m taking pictures with my friends. We sneak off to talk, and I’m thinking, “Okay… he’s actually pretty cool.” Stephanie tells me I need to get his number. I confidently say, “He’ll ask.” Spoiler alert: he does not. I search for him at the end of the day—nothing. I head to my cleaning assignment… and there he is, holding supplies. We talk briefly, still no number exchange. Right as I’m about to give up, he pops up again. After one too many awkward pauses, I finally blurt out that we should exchange numbers. So much for my plan. **James:** I made it my mission to talk to her all day. By the end, I knew I wanted her number—but every time I went looking for her, she disappeared. When we ran into each other at the cleaning station, it didn’t feel like the right moment, so I waited. Later, I finally found her in the auditorium and was just about to ask… when she beat me to it. I quickly learned that patience is not her strong suit. The rest, as they say, is history. It didn’t take James long to know Candice was the one—and if he hadn’t gotten her number that day, he already had a backup plan to “accidentally” visit her congregation. And now, here we are 🤎❤️