ERIC CANTU

Natalie And Scott Taylor

ForNatalie, it was just a ride around White Rock Lake — nothing unusual, really, though these rides had been especially enjoyable since she’d met Scott Taylor, both a training companion and potential soul mate, via the online dating service plentyoffish.com.

Both were seasoned athletes, and it was weird that, this particular day, Scott kept asking to stop for water breaks. As the couple worked their way over the Mockingbird Bridge, Scott, unknown to Natalie, was working up his nerve.

That’s when Natalie took a tumble, bloodied her knee, and wept ever so slightly (mostly from embarrassment, she says). The two soon powered on, heading south on the trail, along the shimming lake toward the bountiful backyard of the Dallas Arboretum.

Scott wanted to stop there to check the progress of the under-construction Children’s Garden. Again, weird. Maybe Scott had interests of which Natalie wasn’t previously aware. Alas, he was not really interested in the garden (admittedly, we don't know that for sure, but it wasn’t his main concern).

When he popped the question, Natalie laughed and assumed he was joking, she says. Sweating, bleeding, giggling, crying and being eaten alive by mosquitos, she finally said, “yes.”

He originally had planned to propose on the Mockingbird Bridge, Scott says, but Natalie’s fall threw a wrench in the works. Once the deal had been sealed, Natalie says, the couple celebrated the way you might expect from two people training for an Ironman triathlon.

“With cold Gatorade at the Winstead 7-11!”