“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.