She said yes! I surprised her with a beach front rental in Malibu, where I pretended I was taking her as an early birthday surprise to throw her off. We drank some champagne on the balcony looking out at the ocean until it got cold and a bit windy, and then moved our chairs under an enclosed part of the patio with wind cover. I asked her to hold the newspaper while I moved our chairs, which she opened and began reading, but there was so much wind that she almost couldn’t turn the pages! I came over and put my left arm around her while using my right hand to help her turn the page. She immediately saw the proposal ad and pointed to her name in shock, as in the first second she thought it was about somebody else. Then she saw our photos and the question, and was brought to tears. She turned to me and I got down on one knee to propose. Her response: “Yes!” Which was quickly followed by a joking “It’s about time!”
