All the girls are not interested in him though he is so handsome and perfect. He doesn't smile often and he has a tiring job in the ships. He is tall, fair hair blue eyes, he almost never smiles, he helps you if you need something but he is not exactly the friendly or the flirtatious type. If I were as handsome as he is, I would be so vain but he is just... so modest and often looks sad. How can I approach him?

My boyfriend and I have been dating for 6 months after being best friends for 9 years. We both want to get married to each other, but not for a few years, so the engagement would be long-ish if I proposed now. We've both discussed we'd be okay with a long engagement, but I don't know how to make sure we're both ready to make this next step without ruining the surprise of a proposal.