Patrick asked Claire to meet at the Houston landmark, El Tiempo, right after returning from Christmas break. Patrick seemed to be an interesting guy and they were both from Robertson County, so Claire figured 'why not?!' and agreed to the date. Upon arrival to the restaurant Claire was greeted at the door by Patrick. Lets just say he did not just politely open the door for her, but rather he more flung it open in the unapologetic, energetic, Patrick way. Claire practically stopped in her tracks and thought, 'He is not what I had expected!' The date was going well and the fajitas were nearing the end when Patrick invited Claire to a concert near her apartment the following evening. Again, Claire thought 'why not!' but this time much more eagerly. Friday night came and the pair Ubered to The House of Blues for a LANCO and Brothers Osborne concert. The concert and company was great! Patrick even texted his sisters that night saying, "I'm in trouble. Second date and I like this girl too much." Patrick left his truck at Claire's apartment garage, so the next morning when he came to pick it up he asked Claire to brunch at Baby Barnaby's and well, the rest is history. They have pretty much been inseparable ever since.

Claire and Patrick decided they wanted go to NYC to see the city decorated for Christmas and visit Lauren and Kathleen. They were to fly in Friday morning a little after midnight, rest up, and then explore The City that morning. Well, like a lot of air travel, that plan didn't work out. Instead the pair arrived in NYC a little after 6 am. When they felt slightly more rested the following day they headed out. First, they went to get Ramen for lunch, a mutual favorite that is unfortunately unavailable in West Texas. Then to Union Square Holiday Market until Lauren texted that she was finished with work. The two hopped on the subway and went right down to Times Square to meet her. From there the trio went to a rooftop bar overlooking the Empire State Building. Around dinner they met up with Kathleen for dinner at Eataly. After dinner the group headed out to do a Tree Hop. Madison Square Park was the group's first stop, then the Bergdorf windows and lights on 5th Avenue, followed by the Rockefeller Center. It was there that Kathleen suggested they go back to the Financial District where it would be less crowded. They arrived at a tree that was practically abandoned at the South Street Seaport. A goal of the trip was to take a Christmas card photo and with having the tree to themselves they agreed to do the photo there. While smiling big for the camera, Patrick starts talking, once Claire realized what he was saying, she turned to him. Patrick got down on one knee and asked Claire to be his wife. She of course said, "Yes!". Patrick then tells her to turn around (mind you Claire has not even seen the ring at this point) and to Claire's surprise Rachel, Stephen, Tara, and Miguel all come from around the back side of the tree! Happy tears ensued and Patrick put the ring on her finger. After celebrating and calling parents the group ended the hop at the New York Stock Exchange and a cute little bar called LoveLace with a few more of Patrick's friends from college.