In 2016, at the encouragement of two friends, Hilary tried out a quaint Austin restaurant and fell in love with the food and ambience of this culinary gem. Cody was the owner of this restaurant -- Cafe Josie. Over celebrations of many special occasions within the restaurant and catered events within shared social circles, Hilary and Cody developed a friendship. Over the next few years, their paths crossed here and there and they remained friends, both unaware of what waited for them in the near future. In the fall of 2019, when Cody was featured in a magazine article and it mentioned that he used to work at Cafe Eccell in College Station, Hilary begged him to make her their famous strawberry tart for her. Cody, being the gentleman that he is, graciously agreed to fulfill her request. Little did she know, he has never made this dessert...not once. Plans were made to make the tart together.... but honestly it was just a ruse to get her attention and a date! To this day, they've still never made that dessert together...

On a trip to Cancun, Hilary & Cody decided to spend a day away from the resort and venture to their favorite Mexican village -- Puerto Morelos. What Hilary wasn't privy to was that Cody had this plan for months before even getting on the place to Mexico. [Do you have any idea how hard it is to slip away and not only find the perfect ring, but then come back and purchase it without her knowing (have you met my fiance)?!? ] They hopped in a cab that morning with no plans once they got to the destination (....little did Hilary know that Cody had a ring burning a hole in his pocket and plans of his own). Upon arriving in Puerto Morelos, they had an amazing lunch at their favorite seaside restaurant, enjoying fresh seafood and watching the waves roll onto the beach. As they finished their lunch and the last of their wine, Cody asked Hilary if she wanted to take a walk down the beach. They strolled along the white sand beach and ended up at the fishing pier right off the town square (which is a famous focal point in the village). They walked to the end of the pier, hand in hand. Completely oblivious to what was about to happen, once they got to the end of the pier, Cody turned towards Hilary and got down on one knee as he asked her to be his wife! Then he blacked out, dropped the ring into the ocean (never to be found again) and cried like a baby as she ran away....just kidding...she said "ABSOLUTELY...YES!!!"