What was he waiting for? Was his mother right? Should he make the jump and propose to her?
She deserved a grandiose proposal, but he wasn’t exactly the most creative guy in the world when it came to planning romantic dates. What if he disappointed her?
“William?”
Lost in thought, he hadn’t noticed Julie walk up behind him. “Oh. Hey there,” he said, stammering.
“Are you hiding behind a tree?” she asked, smiling.
“Maybe.”
“Why are you hiding from Janine?”
He looked back at the two of them who were now chasing each other and playing some form of tag. “I wasn’t exactly hiding. I just saw her and Vivi playing and wanted to watch them for a few minutes.”
Julie smiled. “Why do I find this whole scene so incredibly cute?”
He turned around and looked at her, his back against the tree trunk. “I don’t know because I’m definitely not cute. I am a strong, confident man,” he said, sticking out his chest and smiling.
“Well, confident man, why are you hiding behind this tree where your girlfriend can’t see you?”
He looked down at his feet. “It seems that my mother overheard your conversation with Dawson the other day.”
Julie furrowed her eyebrows, obviously trying to recollect one of many conversations she had probably had with her husband in recent days. “What did she overhear exactly?”
“That Janine wants to get married.”
William watched her face for some kind of reaction, but she held it in well. She pursed her lips tightly and then laughed under her breath. “I’m going to have to have a word with Miss Dixie when I see her next.”
“Don’t be mad at her. She wasn’t trying to overhear on purpose, but when she did, she ran with it.”
“Look, this is your and Janine’s business. Nobody else’s. And I shouldn’t have even been talking about it with Dawson.”
“He’s your husband. You can talk to him about anything.”
“Everybody’s relationship has its own course, William. You shouldn’t feel pressured just because of what your mother said.”
He looked at her for a long moment. “Is what she said true? Does Janine really want to get married?”
Julie shook her head. “Oh no. I’m not getting in the middle of this. I shouldn’t have been talking so openly about it so Dixie could overhear me.”
She started to walk away but William lightly pulled on her arm. “Please. Just tell me. I don’t want to propose and look like a complete idiot when she says no.”
“Do you honestly think she would say no?”
“Listen, I’ve had a lot of bad experiences with women in my life. I don’t take anything for granted.”
She looked up into his eyes, putting her hands over his. “Janine isn’t other women. She loves you with everything she has, and I’ve never seen her so happy and content. She’s not going anywhere, William. So whatever you’ve experienced in the past with other women who may have let you down, that isn’t my sister.”
“I know. You’re right. I guess the only way to find out if she’ll marry me is to ask her. Now I just have to figure out how and then find the courage.”
Julie smiled and then kissed him on the cheek. “I know whatever you do will be perfect. You know Janine very well. Just do it with your full heart. You can never go wrong with that.”
She walked around the other side of the tree and then ran toward her granddaughter. Vivi giggled loudly as she broke free from Janine and ran to Julie. He continued looking at them from behind the tree until Janine turned around with her back facing him. He took that moment to quickly get back to the sidewalk and continue his walk to get dinner. He needed some time to think, and low blood sugar was starting to set in.
Janine walked down the gravel road leading to the cottage. Sometimes she just liked walking home from work even though it was a pretty long way from town. Today she just felt like clearing her mind, especially after spending so much time playing with Vivi in the square.
When she played with her great-niece, sometimes it left her with a hole in her heart when they parted ways. She longed for a life like her sister had. Husband, kids, and even one day grandkids.
Moving quickly through her forties, she realized that she had started giving up on some of those dreams years ago. When it was obvious that the right man just wasn’t in her path yet, she figured that she may never have kids. Now, especially after watching Julie and Dawson adopt Dylan, she knew that a child didn’t have to be biologically hers. She adored that little boy just as much as she did Colleen and Meg.
Most women felt their biological clock ticking in their thirties, and Janine had felt that somewhat back then. But she had been far too busy traveling the world with her yoga to give it much thought. In reality, maybe she was running from those feelings all along.
Now, she was with William and she adored him. She truly couldn’t see a future that William wasn’t a part of. But she wondered if he felt the same long-term feelings for her. He had said so many times, but here they were, still living separately, still not married. There must’ve been a reason he wasn’t making the effort of proposing.
She tried not to feel bitter or resentful. After all, they hadn’t been dating a super long time. It wasn’t his responsibility to propose if he didn’t feel it was the right thing to do. Maybe she would end up being one of those single women who adopted, not that there was anything wrong with doing that. It just wasn’t her vision. She saw herself with a husband who loved her and a house with a white picket fence. It was so traditional and so
