Foolish Notions of a Hopeless Romantic

Being a foolish romantic I probably fall into the category of being a 'Fabulous Man', well I think so from reading Bob Grant's "The man of your dreams", which in my defence is a book I borrowed from a friend of my fiance.

We'd been over to her place for a coffee when her being single came up as it often does, except this time she was unusually upbeat about the future, she'd just read "The man of your dreams".

I think I am my fiance's dream man, after all why else would she be with me. But I must say I dread the topic coming up when her friend is around because I often have to defend myself against the onslaught of cave man type accusations.

This time I was pleasantly surprised, Bob Grant talks about men being one of two types, Fabulous, or Strong and Steady. Ah hah, men fall into two groups and they're both great. A welcome relief for any man who regularly socialises with single women.

If you're a woman and you haven't read this book, go ahead and do so, and if you're a guy, go ahead and buy it and give it to her as a gift. Believe me you'll thank me. Having my personality dissected while I'm still in the room is rarely a nice feeling, but this time round surprised me. I came out of it feeling 'Fabulous'.

On those cool evenings we tend to snuggle up under a blanket while we watch TV, and a couple of nights ago we dragged out a Chocolate fondue set we'd been given for a recent birthday. We thought this would be a really romantic experience, dipping marshmallows into slowly melting chocolate.

It started well, the chocolate started to melt, we dropped a couple of marshmallows into the chocolate and swirled them around. Oh boy, it was heavenly. We'd just bought a plain Cadbury chocolate bar, but it was nice.

After a few minutes though we noticed a smell of burning, yikes, the fondue set was one of those cheap sets you buy for a couple of dollars and the candle was set too high in the frame so the chocolate had started burning at the bottom of the bowl. Oh well, at least we had a laugh about it, and a lovely hot cuppa followed afterwards.

My fiance read through the first two romantic musings and told me her most precious time with me is at the end of the working day when we sit down together over a coffee and nibbles, then just talk about what happened at work.

We do this every day before our evening shower, then we prepare dinner together and settle down in the living room to watch TV before going to bed. It doesn't sound like much, but these little moments of romance help keep our sanity in an insane world and bring us together instead of only really catching up at the weekend.

These moments are treasured because my best friend is my fiance and life would be unbearable without those moments. We often mix it up a little by sitting together at our computer and replying to emails or browsing our favorite travel destinations, Rome, Paris, the Mediterranean.

10 Hold her hand when you're out and about

9 Run a bubblebath for her and drop the petals from a dozen red roses on top

8 Secretly arrange for a friend to take her out on a shopping expedition then give her an envelope of cash as she walks out the door

7 On those cold winter nights, snuggle up under a blanket and hold her tight

6 Listening to her when she needs to talk, and not offering advice on how to deal with the situation

5 Letting her sleep in, then when she wakes the house is filled with the smell of fresh butter croissants and ground filter coffee

4 Opening a door for her because a lady deserves the little gestures

3 Planning to spend time together, keeping your promise and then giving her a single red rose just because you love her

2 Getting home early and preparing her favorite meal, setting the table with candles, soft music, and a nice bottle of wine

1 Getting down on your knee and proposing when she least expects it

How's this for romantic, a warm sunny Mediterranean day, on a yacht anchored in a sheltered bay, crystal clear blue sea lapping at the sides, a bottle of pink champagne cooling in ice, a delicious picnic arranged on the deck, off in the distance seagulls lazily hovering over the waves, a pristine golden beach only meters away.

Imagine you and your partner sunning yourselves on deck, and glancing mischievously across at each other, each knowing the rest of day can only get better.

This is a dream of mine I whispered in her ear. She smiled and closed her eyes, in my minds eye I could see her on deck, sitting up and looking directly at me, then slowly raising one hand and beckoning with her finger.

Even though we were only in our living room the romance of the moment took hold, my word, we can't wait to experience the real thing.