The girl in front of him, who, as it turns out, isn't much of a coffee drinker at all, was already talking to others in line, and they struck up a conversation.

Twenty minutes later, the two were still talking, and a Starbucks employee interrupted to ask if they still wanted their drinks.

Before they parted ways, Kristin Taliaferro, a life and career coach, handed him her business card and said he should give her a call. He was intrigued. And so was she.

They discovered they lived only blocks apart, and their instant connection made it seem as if they had known each other for ages.

"Normally, I play hard to get," said Taliaferro, who didn't allow a goodnight kiss on the first date. But she was smitten, and she called him the next day to ask him to an IMAX movie.

During the movie, they held hands, and Taliaferro had her first realization that "this could be the guy."

"I waited and waited and waited for the right guy, and nobody was even close to what I wanted," she said.

She found a comfort in Kott she hadn't found in anyone else.

A few weeks later, he accepted her invitation to accompany her on a spa trip to Mexico and had the same feeling.

"I had built up this almost impossible image of the ideal woman," he said. "She had to be beautiful and have a stable center."

With Taliaferro, he recognized right away that she fit his description.

At first, he was a little intimidated by her. Not only was she a successful entrepreneur, but he discovered when he met her father that he was former quarterback Mike Taliaferro, a 1964 Rose Bowl champion who played for the New York Jets, Boston Patriots and Buffalo Bills.

Kristin never let on about it. In fact, Kott was in the dark until he was in their house admiring all of the jerseys on the wall.

None of that mattered to Kott. He was just swept away by Kristin, to the point that he doesn't mind talking about mushy stuff, like the way he fell in love looking into her eyes.

"Literally, the thought of Kristin makes me happy," he said.

They began a ritual of ending their dates slow dancing in the living room, often to Elton John's "Your Song."

One night in that living room, Kott set out candles and a blanket on the floor and proposed when Taliaferro came home.

The newly engaged Texans then began thinking of making their home someplace else.

Kott's father had gone to the University of Hawai'i, and Kott had good memories of vacationing here.

He brought his bride-to-be to Maui, and they scouted out Hana as a potential wedding site, but later decided on the Turtle Bay Resort on O'ahu's North Shore.

It would be more than a spot to wed and honeymoon.

A job opportunity at First Insurance of Hawaii came up for Kott, and he jumped at it, with no coaching from the career and life coach in his life.

They arrived last fall and settled in Kailua.

"It really is kind of a big dream," Kristin Taliaferro said. "We love it."

On Dec. 4, 2004, about 60 of their closest friends and family members gathered on the scenic North Shore, with the backdrop of big winter waves, to celebrate their union.

Mike Taliaferro walked his daughter down the aisle, escorted by a Polynesian procession with four dancers, drummers, chanting and a conch-shell blower.

The crowd could hear the waves crashing as Kahu Wendell Silva led the spiritual ceremony and invoked the blessings of the Hawaiian gods.

After the ceremony, the bride and groom and their photographer shared the beach with pro surfers who were there for a photo shoot and all wanted to capture the last moments of that day's sunset on film.

Mark Occhilupo, an Australian surfer known as "Occy," treated the newlyweds to mai tais.

Then the couple joined their guests for a reception that included a chocolate fountain, dinner and dancing.

The 35-year-old bride said she knows she and Kott are right for each other because they both love to challenge themselves and will never outgrow each other.

And the groom, 34, said he's continually amazed by his wife and smiles whenever he thinks of her. "I couldn't be any more in love," he said.