Credit: SWNS<br /><br />A woman who waited 24 years for a first kiss with her childhood best friend is now engaged to be married to him - after keeping her feelings a secret for over two decades.<br /><br />Kate MacNeil and Paul Damon, both 38, were tied at the hip when they met as teenagers in 1997.<br /><br />Despite the school girl, who was 13 at the time, being 'mad' about her best pal, she never plucked up the courage to explain how she felt.<br /><br />The best mates would talk for hours on the phone everyday after school - but lost touch when Paul joined the navy and Kate moved away to college. <br /><br />Kate, a teacher, and Paul, a master woodworker, both married but they followed each other's lives for years online. <br /><br />In December 2020, and after the breakdown of her marriage, Kate, who is a mum-of-two, found the courage to reach out to Paul on Facebook. <br /><br />Two weeks later he replied and the pair talked for hours before he agreed to fly out to Kate’s home in Port Charlotte, Florida, USA. <br /><br />After finally telling each other about their feelings for one another they shared their first kiss and date and decided Paul would move to live with Kate and her children.<br /> <br />The couple are now engaged and plan to get married in July 2023.
