A stranger sat at her table, claiming to be her soulmate. She looked up with an astonished look on her face, thinking to herself “this man is out of his ever loving mind!” She said to him “oh yeah, how you figure?” He replied, as he handed her a bouquet of two dozen, long stemmed dark pink roses, “because I believe in love at first sight. And I know I love you, with all my heart, mind and soul! Let me introduce myself, my name is Finlay Black. She stared at him in utter disbelief, choking on her glass of iced tea. She sputtered saying “OK”, thinking to herself, I’ll go along with this for a bit and see where it goes. She replies “Hello. My name is Ainsley Star.”

He watches her finish her meal and pay the bill. Then he escorts her outside. They start walking. They stop at a park bench, sit down and look up at all the twinkling stars in the sky. He says “I’ve been admiring you from afar for a couple of days. And I just had to introduce myself and get to know you better.”

They spend the rest of the evening talking about each other. He walks her to her car and kisses her goodnight on her cheek. Then gives her his number and asks her to please call him, because he would love to take her out on a proper date.

She drives away, totally perplexed about the whole evening. She has a hard time falling asleep as she can’t stop thinking about this strange turn of events. She wakes up groggy and must rush to get ready for her job. She arrives with just seconds to spare. As she gets to her office, she sees a large, beautiful bouquet of flowers on her desk and a note that says, “I enjoyed last night. Please call me.”  She spends most of the morning in her office daydreaming about the previous night. She finally calls him on her lunch break, and they make a date for dinner and a movie for that evening.

The rest of the day drags on painfully as she anticipates the date. When she finally gets home she spends a ridiculous amount of time trying to find the “perfect outfit” for the date. After totally trashing her room, with clothes strewn over every available surface, she finally decides on the perfect little black dress and killer heels.

He picks her up and takes her to the most luxurious restaurant in town. He orders the tastiest meal she’s ever eaten. Her steak was cooked to perfection and melt-in-your-mouth tender. Then he calls over the maître d and asks for the most expensive bottle of champagne they have. Then he toasts her, saying “To the most intriguing, beautiful woman I have ever met!” Then they order their best chocolate dessert that’s best for sharing. It turns out to be a light, fluffy chocolate mousse with a thick layer of whipped cream and chocolate shavings.

Then he asks for her left hand and puts the most beautiful, princess-cut diamond on her ring finger. Then he kisses her hand. And tells her “I want to marry you NOW!” Her jaw hits the floor. She was NOT expecting this at all. Her mind is racing and she’s wondering what she is going to do. She can’t think straight. She feels faint. She excuses herself and rushes to the lady’s room. She takes a few deep breaths and splashes cold water on her face. She starts to calm down. After a few minutes she returns to their table. He’s still sitting there holding the ring box. Looking at her expectantly. She finally says, “OK, but this has to go kind of slow, because things are just happening way too fast!” He replies, we can take as long as you’d like, just knowing you are mine is all I need!”. He pays the bill, and they leave the restaurant. They got in his car and drove to the beach. They spend the rest of the evening walking in the wet sand along the shore and talking. He takes her home and gives her a proper kiss goodnight.

The next morning, she wakes up to a “good morning beautiful” text. Her day starts wonderfully. She gets ready for work on cloud nine. She arrives to her office to find a bunch of beautiful flowers filling her desk top. She just laughs. She’s on cloud nine all day. Everything she does falls perfectly into place, as it should. Nothing disrupts her fabulous day.

After work he arrives at her house, and they cook dinner together. Then they sit on the couch to discuss their dream wedding plans. Her cat, Sticktite, not to be ignored, jumped up on his lap and demanded some attention. While petting the cat, he tells her that he’s fine with anything she wants to do with the wedding. They decided it will be a lovely beach wedding next summer. With close family and friends. Nothing too extravagant. They have months to work out all the details.

In the meantime, they get to know each other better. Discovering each other’s favorite food, music, movies, books, hobbies. Taking long drives. Walking on the beach looking for shells and sea glass. Spending time going to museums and checking out the old parts of town, with all the extraordinary architecture. Hiking. Going to the botanical gardens. Other days, just sitting on the couch with a cozy blanket, a cup of hot tea and enthralled in a good book. Just enjoying being close.

As the months go on, they start planning the wedding. Shopping for the perfect dress. Picking the perfect location on the beach. Getting all the little odds and ends associated with the wedding figured out and rented or lined up. Getting the invites sent out. Getting their wedding registry done. Lining up care for Sticktite during the honeymoon.

Finally, it’s time for the big day. The day is perfect. The sun is shining. Everything goes off without a hitch. They are finally husband and wife and head off to their dream honeymoon in Bali.