Lucas and I had been part of the same friend group for years, just floating around each other, nothing special. But then, in 2019, Lucas did what he does best—he lost something. This time, it was his car keys at the movie theater in Perkins Rowe. Naturally, he called me to come help him look for them. After combing the theater with no luck, Lucas conveniently needed a ride every. Single. Day. during my Thanksgiving break. Suspicious, right? Before I knew it, he suddenly took a keen interest in my then-favorite TV show, *The Bachelor*. So, every Wednesday at 7:00PM, we had “Bachelor dates.” I thought it was innocent at first, but after a few weeks, I realized: oh no, I’ve fallen into a Lucas trap. And our friends? They totally caught on too. One day, Lucas came over to hang out, and out of nowhere, my grandparents showed up. Busted. I was caught red-handed, and immediately braced myself for the wave of questions from my parents. "So, who’s this Lucas guy?" (UH OH!) Then came our Friendsmas party. Devin, in true annoying best friend fashion, kept hovering over us with a mistletoe, not-so-subtly dropping hints. But the real kicker was a few days later, New Year’s Eve. My friends and I were getting dressed to go bring in the New Year, and the main talking point was, "Is Lucas going to be your New Year’s kiss?" As you can imagine, I was freaking out. At 11:59, we all stepped outside to watch the fireworks. Lucas turns to me and, with the confidence of a guy who’s been planning this moment for weeks, says, “Will you be my New Year’s kiss?” And just like that, it happened—kid in a candy store moment for me. But, not even two minutes later, my phone rang. JoeJoe, my cousin, called to say that Mr. Leo, my dog, had freaked out over the fireworks and run off. What did Lucas do? Without hesitation, he jumped in the Uber with me, and we spent all night walking around, searching for Leo until we finally found him walking down River Road in his Christmas pajamas. And that’s when it hit me—I picked the right guy. Though, let’s be honest: I’m still convinced Lucas hid his car keys on purpose that day. Mark my words, he’s going to pull them out at the altar and be like, “Remember these?” HAHA.

As everyone knows, I have been waiting for this moment FOREVER! I had a pretty solid hunch that Lucas had already bought the ring, and let’s be real, I was beyond ready to have it on my finger. I was convinced he’d pop the question during our first big trip to the Mirage. (Can you tell why I wasn’t exactly patient? LOL.) Then, out of nowhere, RahRah suggests a trip to Tennessee the week before my birthday. Naturally, we couldn’t say no! The day before we left, Mrs. Kristi casually swung by to drop off the ring. Everything was on track, right? Well, in true Lucas fashion, halfway to Tennessee, he suddenly realizes—wait for it—he LEFT THE RING at home! (How does one even manage that?!) Cue instant panic. He’s texting his mom frantically, but Mrs. Kristi, offers to overnight the ring to our hotel. Meanwhile, I’m just sitting there, totally clueless, watching Lucas squirm in the front seat and wondering why he’s being so weird. Fast forward to Tennessee, we’re having a great time. One afternoon, we get back to the hotel, and Lucas randomly says, “I need to grab a placker from the car.” I’m like, “Uh, we have plackers in the bathroom?” But no, he insists. He *has* to get the ones from the car… alone. I just shrug it off, thinking he’s being weird. Then, the next time we head to the car, I notice my car has mysteriously moved. I ask him why, and he’s like, “I didn’t like how it was parked.” Oh, okay, sure. As I’m putting stuff in the trunk, I spot a suspicious shipping box. Lucas sees me spot the box, and what does he do? He starts an argument, of course! “Why are you taking so long? Just get in the car!” I’m thinking, Whoa, someone’s touchy, but I decide to let it go and not acknowledge the box. The next couple of days, Lucas keeps getting calls from “Shawn,” a builder from work. Apparently, Shawn is SO important that Lucas has to step outside every time he calls. Afterward, I found out “Shawn” was actually my dad, saved in Lucas’s phone as “Shawn Answer.” Lucas was trying to get in touch with him to discuss his plan, but couldn't get in touch with him. Then, two days later, Lucas suggests a sunset picnic in Cades Cove. I’m all in! We head out, grab a bottle of wine, and I plug the destination into the GPS., I accidentally take us 30 minutes in the wrong direction. Oops! Lucas starts acting all sassy again, but I figure it’s because I messed up. Whoopsie. We finally make it to Cades Cove, which is this 11-mile, one-lane loop with zero cell service. We decide to drive around once to scout the perfect spot before setting up. Halfway through, we get stuck in a dead stop for 45 minutes because some tourists are losing their minds over a bear. Lucas is one second away from jumping out to direct traffic himself. When we finally get moving again, I spot the perfect picnic spot, but Lucas is like, “No, no, I did my research, and the John Oliver Cabin has amazing views.” Alrighty! To John Oliver's Cabin we go! We pull up to the cabin, and as soon as I get out of the car, nature calls. So, I run into the woods, and Lucas is yelling after me, “Hurry up! People are coming!” Little did I know, the “people” were actually our photographers, waiting for the big moment. I rush back, grab the backpack, and start prepping for our picnic. Then, right as we step out, two deer run out of the woods. It was perfect! Lucas drops to one knee and asks me to marry him. It was the most magical moment! Turns out, Lucas had been stressing the whole time because we were late, and the photographers were supposed to capture the proposal at 6:00PM. But without service, there was no way to update them. Even though it didn’t go exactly as he planned, it couldn’t have been more perfect. And yes, despite all the chaos, Lucas still pulled it off... and I said yes, obviously!