'I waited 24 years to kiss my childhood best friend – now we're engaged'

In a love story fit for a rom-com, a bride to be is marrying her childhood best friend – after keeping her crush on him a secret for 24 years.

Kate MacNeil, 38, met Paul Damon when they met as teenagers in 1997 after being introduced at a dance studio by his sisters.

Kate says she was ‘mad’ about Paul, 38, but she never found the courage to tell him how she felt.

‘I’ve always loved him,’ Kate said.

‘We would talk every night when we were kids and fall asleep on the phone.

‘But nothing ever happened.’

Then, when the pair was 18, Kate plucked up the courage to kiss Paul – but in a heart-breaking twist, he rejected her advances.

Kate, who is originally from Williamsburg, Virginia, USA, explained: ‘I took the plunge to kiss him, but he turned his head.

‘I ran away embarrassed and broken.’

Two years after they met, Kate and her family moved away as her dad got a job in another city.

Sadly, the pair slowly lost touch. When the family returned in 2000, the once best friends were no longer as close, and they only drifted further when Kate moved to Alabama, USA, in August 2002 for college, and Paul joined the navy.

In time, both moved on with their lives and got married. Kate started her career as a teacher and had children, while Paul became a master woodworker – although they admit they both kept an eye on each other on social media.

But in December 2020, following the breakdown of her marriage, Kate made a fresh start in Florida, and found herself thinking even more about her old friend Paul.

She said: ‘I’d see what he was up to from Facebook, so I knew Paul had gotten a divorce, but I wasn’t sure if he still had a girlfriend.

‘I never forgot him and kept wanting to know what he was up to.

‘We hadn’t spoken in years, but I knew I still had feelings for him.

‘I came to a point in my life where I knew I needed to reach out and see if he felt the same way.’

Two weeks later, she received a response from him – and sparks flew.

Kate says: ‘He replied to me saying, ‘hey stranger,’ and we just spoke for hours from there.

‘It was like nothing had changed.’

Despite rejecting her advances as a teenager, Paul claims he felt like an ‘idiot’ when he turned away from Kate’s attempt to kiss him and has been thinking about her ever since.

‘I can’t think of a time I didn’t think of Kate – in all those years we were apart,’ he said.

‘No one measured up to her.

‘When she reached out, it was indescribable. It’s amazing.’

Paul agreed to fly out to Kate’s home in Florida and finally – after 24 years – the pair admitted their feelings and shared their first kiss.

‘It was magical,’ says Kate. ‘I feel like my life is now complete.’

Soom after their romantic weekend, Paul decided he would move to live with Kate and her children. Refusing to be apart any longer, six weeks later, he moved in.

The couple are now engaged and set to get married in July 2023.

‘I’ve always loved him,’ Kate said.

‘It took 24 years, but I wouldn’t change our journey. It’s a dream come true.’

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing [email protected].

Source: Read Full Article