It was right on sunset at Noosa on Thursday when injured Newcastle Knights skipper Jayden Brailey finally asked sweetheart Liliana Brogan to marry him.
For the briefest of seconds, it seemed like maybe he would ask the big question a few years back when - ever the gentleman - he sat down with Mum and Dad Brogan for a chat, only to earnestly ask if Liliana could join him when he moved to Newcastle to join the side.
"Poor thing! I'd already decided I was going," Liliana jokes, "We didn't live together at the time, we both still lived with mum and dad.
"He honestly has the kindest heart and he did go and ask my parents, but I said 'I'm already going'. I'd already made up my mind."
The couple were on holidays with friends on Thursday last week when they decided to head down to the beach to watch the sunset. Liliana was convinced as the boys headed off ahead that the evening wander was to capture a couple of photos for their friends who are expecting, but when she arrived to the carefully-laid picnic and bubbles, it clicked.
"I was thinking, is this happening? Is it finally here?" Liliana revealed this week, elated.
"It was the biggest surprise ever. For the last week, I've been a mute; I was just so shocked. How did he do this without me knowing? I know everything!"
The couple met in 2017 at a Cronulla nightclub. Liliana, then 21, was on a night out with friends when they spotted an old school friend.
"She asked if we could go over and say hello and I thought 'I don't know if we've got enough time'," Liliana laughs, "Then I saw him and I thought, yep, we have enough time."
It was instant chemistry and the couple have spent the last few years checking off their pre-marriage bucket list.
They travelled to the US together last year, and added Fred the golden retriever-poodle cross puppy. Jayden had his heart set on a Staffy, but Lil reveals the pair have been inseparable.
"He's our son," she jokes, "I'm like the third wheel in our little family; it's Jayden, Fred and then it's me."
The engagement was a bright spot in an otherwise hard year for the Knights' skipper, who has been ruled out of the remainder of the season after suffering a serious knee injury in the Knights win over the Warriors in April.
It is the second time he has suffered the dreaded injury, having torn the same ligament in his right knee in round two of the 2020 season.
Brailey celebrated his 27th birthday on crutches after the fateful game, but Liliana says his spirits have been high despite the setback.
"It has been such a tough start to the year, and a massive blow," Liliana said, "We have been spending a lot of time down in Sydney for surgery and we've stayed with his parents and have just been surrounded by family and that's really lifted his spirits."
Brailey has returned to training and is undergoing physiotherapy with the club, Liliana said yesterday, and was keen to get back among his teammates.
"He's so excited to get back and be around the boys and the club and that has helped him so much," she said.
In the meantime, Liliana - who has been working as a media executive for the new QT building in town since November, after stints with international tech agency Sunroom and multi-national dating app Bumble - makes it to every Knights game to support the side.
"Jayden is truly my best friend," she said, "He's a romantic at heart - he doesn't like to show it, but he definitely is.
"I asked all my friends if they helped organise everything and they said he had organised the whole thing. He's blown me out of the water!"
