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Amy Scherzer's diary

Heart Beat: My best friend's sister

He bugged his best friend to bring his sister to a beach weekend. They clicked right away.

By AMY SCHERZER
Published August 18, 2006

WELLSWOOD

Marrying Kacee Urso got Emilio Martinez the ultimate package deal.

He got the girl of his dreams and a brother-in-law who's his best friend.

His buddy, A.J. Urso, is Kacee's younger brother. When the two guys met in a math class at Hillsborough Community College, A.J. pushed her to hang out with them.

"I know every guy she's ever dated, and I knew she'd like Emilio," said A.J., 25. "He's real outgoing and fun to be around."

But school, work and exercise were Kacee's priorities. She was juggling a business marketing major at the University of Tampa and a full-time job at TECO Energy as a benefits analyst.

"Any free time, I spent with family," said Kacee, the 26-year-old niece of Joe Urso, the head baseball coach at UT, and Sal Urso, owner of Urso Baseball Academy and former Robinson High baseball coach.

Born in Tampa, Kacee moved to Winter Haven as a toddler and to Austin, Texas, as a teen. After high school, Kacee and A.J. returned to their family's home in Tampa's Wellswood, where the newlyweds live now. Their parents, Sandy and Andy Urso, stayed in Austin.

Martinez, 29, was born in Puerto Rico. After a year at the University of Puerto Rico, he left to join the Army. Four years later, in 1999, he said goodbye to his buddies in the 82nd Airborne in Fort Bragg, N.C., and took a job as a diesel mechanic at a Tampa dealership.

With an eye on a business administration degree, Martinez enrolled at HCC. He and A.J. studied, hung out and went to clubs together.

Busy as she was, Kacee noticed one thing about Martinez: his Puerto Rican accent.

"Every time he called the house to talk to A.J., I would start to giggle. I didn't mean to, but he'd ask, 'Is A-hey home? Can I talk to A-hey?' " she said, referring to the Spanish pronunciation of the letter J. "I thought his accent was the cutest thing."

The two finally came face to face - for a few minutes - at the 2002 Gasparilla parade. His first impression?

"I'll never forget what she was wearing: really short white shorts," he said, grinning. "But she was my friend's sister, so what could I say?"

After a quick hello, Kacee dashed off to a party. Later that night, her cell phone rang. It was Martinez, pretending to be looking for her brother.

"But it was just an excuse to call me. My brother was right there and gave him my number," she said, all smiles at that memory.

Martinez, now a service center adviser at a truck company, got nowhere until Memorial Day weekend when he and some friends rented a condo on Redington Beach. He relentlessly bugged A.J. to bring his sister.

When they arrived, Martinez was in the gulf, rescuing a friend who had fallen off a water scooter.

Heroism was her first impression.

"Emilio swam about a half-mile to stop the spinning Jet Ski and pull the man to shore," she said. Besides "that adorable" accent, Kacee was captivated by his adrenaline-fueled confidence.

He never left her side as they swam and boated. They joined their friends for dinner, but his dark eyes never left hers.

"Every conversation was like we were alone," Kacee said.

A.J. happily noticed their connection.

Kacee and Martinez quickly discovered they both drove a 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse - hers was red and his was silver - both favored red wine, and both played point guard in high school basketball. Both were Catholic.

In December 2004, about 70 friends and relatives celebrated Kacee's college graduation at 717 South in SoHo. Everyone gathered to watch a video of Kacee growing up. Toward the end, as the soundtrack played Fairy tales can come true, Martinez appeared in many pictures.

"My dad made a speech about how proud he was of me, going to school and working full time," Kacee said. He finished with, "And now someone else would like to speak."

Martinez was the last person she expected to take the microphone.

"He never speaks in crowds because he's self-conscious of his accent," she said.

Not that day. He extended his congratulations, then shocked everyone by getting down on one knee, with ring in hand, and asking her to be his wife.

The room erupted in screams and sobs, hugs and kisses. The festivities moved to Bahasa Lounge and continued to 3 a.m.

The couple wed March 4 at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in downtown Tampa. Dinner at Higgins Hall entertained 350 guests.

"We had conga players for the Puerto Rican side," Kacee said. "Rat Pack Too played Dean Martin-style for the Sicilian side and there were cigar rollers for the Cuban side."

Veering from their usual vacations in Puerto Rico, Texas and Florida, Mr. and Mrs. Martinez skied, ice skated and rode horses in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania. Their honeymoon package featured a 7-foot-tall champagne glass whirlpool bath, heart-shaped pool and sauna.

Yet another package deal for the couple.

Have a wonderful wedding story to share? E-mail scherzer@sptimes.com or call 813 226-3332.

[Last modified August 16, 2006, 12:30:55]