DEAR ABBY: I have been engaged to a wonderful man for more than two years, and cannot seem to set a wedding date. He loves me and my 9-year-old daughter. He does all of the laundry, the dishes and the cleaning, and he accepts my daughter as his own. He works two jobs so we don't go without anything.
Sounds perfect, right?
The problem is, I don't think I love him. I say that I do, but I don't feel it in my heart. He is all a woman could ask for in a husband, but is that enough to replace love? Or have I read too many romance novels?
He wants to get married as soon as possible. I am 29, have never been married, and I feel my daughter needs a father. I am also afraid I won't find a man who will ever love me as much as he does.
Can I find a man whom I love, who accepts my daughter as his own -- or should I marry a man I don't love, but who would be a wonderful husband and father? -- FOR BETTER OR WORSE
DEAR FOR BETTER: If you marry this man, knowing in your heart that you do not love him, you will be doing yourself and him a great disservice. Marriage is supposed to last forever. And forever is a long time to live with yourself, feeling that you sold out because you were afraid you wouldn't find a man you can love. Let him go.