Every love story starts somewhere—and ours began in the most unexpected of places: at work. Rob was the door guy, Maddy was the bartender, and what started as casual weekend conversations soon became the best part of our shifts. We were friends first, not knowing that fate was quietly at work behind the scenes. Maddy played rugby and wore her bruises like badges of honor. Rob, a football player himself, was no stranger to injuries either. Maddy would tease him constantly to “be more careful,” but one day he walked into the bar with his arm in a sling. Having recently recovered from shoulder surgery herself, she couldn’t help but feel for him. When Rob mentioned he had to drive all the way to Chicago for an MRI, Maddy offered to come along. What neither of us expected was that a simple road trip would change everything. After every song in Maddy’s Spotify playlist had played out, conversation filled the quiet. We talked about everything and nothing at all—and somewhere between laughter, long stories, and shared songs, something just clicked. Rob asked Maddy to be his girlfriend a few times, but timing has its own rhythm. Then, on December 18, 2023, everything finally fell into place. That’s the day Maddy said yes—and the day our friendship became forever.