Dear Abby: My daughter, “Renee,” is 25 and is an intelligent and independent woman with a good job. She has been in a relationship with her boyfriend, “Bryan,” for 6.5 years. They have been living together for the past 2 years.

Bryan is nice and has a decent job, and I like him. However, there is virtually no conversation between them about what their future together holds. Renee would like to get engaged, but she refuses to bring anything up to Bryan for fear that he will feel “pushed.” She wants it to happen with no prodding. I maintain that it’s perfectly acceptable to ask where he sees their relationship going.

At this point, I’d like to take Bryan aside and say that I love my daughter and would like to know what his intentions are. Is that totally inappropriate in this day and age? I worry she may be throwing away her best years on a dead-end relationship. I know Renee would not be happy if I approached Bryan with this. Should I just keep my mouth shut and let her handle it?