He was older than me. Maybe, 50. My first encounter with him, I instantly disliked him. Love at first sight? Well, you know that it’s never worked that way for me anyway. Don’t get me wrong though, this guy had a presence and was good looking but he was arrogant and chauvinistic . He was standing at the bar wearing a F1 racing cap. He had broad shoulders that gave good support to a strong chest and a firm steak belly. He was drinking 100-year-old whiskey out of a goblet that was carved from peasants bones. He had also, quite obviously, formed an opinion of me long before he had actually met...

I sat in the shadows, under a big oak tree, the street light was highlighting the furrow lines between my eyebrows, as I chewed nervously on the inside of my cheek. My head was darting left and right as I wondered “is this guy going to be a big mammoth of a creature or a small sawed-in-half little man?” I still wasn’t sure if I was going to have the ‘cojones’ to actually get out of my car. I was most definitely waiting until I could see him first before I decided that I was, in fact, about to have my first date in years. All I had seen of...

So maybe you’re at the stage where, after your divorce, you’re ready to mingle with the opposite sex again. When you first receive an invitation to go on a date, it’s very natural to make excuses not to go, because taking the plunge is as scary as hell: “Oh, I’ve got plans that night,” or “I can’t find a babysitter.” The idea of going on what really is an interview with a brand-new person can be daunting. After all, what do you talk to a stranger about? “So, where are you from? What do you do? Why are you single? What the hell is wrong with you?” Yes, these are...

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