“Lucia's Lessons of Love” has been called the “love manual” for single men and women. This is not your typical relationship book with long, drawn-out or complicated answers. Lucia gets to the point immediately and bottom lines each answer in a fun, easy-to-read “Q & A” format. Think of it as the “cliff notes” for love, dating and relationships.

Do you want to know:

Why is it that whenever I like someone they don't like me, and the ones I don't like are crazy about me? (pg.27)

What does, “I love you but I'm not in love with you” mean? (pg.58)

Should you compliment a woman, especially an attractive woman, when you first meet her? Ignore my advice on this at your own peril. (pg.50)

What do men want? No, it's not sex. (although they want that too) (pg.38)

Where is the most romantic place on earth? (you'll be surprised) (pg.20)

Does “the one” really exist? (pg.13)

Do I have to play hard to get? (pg.48)

Why do I always attract the wrong people? (pg.26)

What's the fastest way to connect with someone? (Bill Clinton does it all the time) (pg.28)

What does it mean when someone says they “need space”? (pg.63)

What are the top three dating mistakes? (pg.31)

What does it mean when a woman says “nothing” is wrong? Is it really true?

You'll stop a lot of fights by finding out the answer to this. (pg.66)

When does a woman know if she wants to sleep with a man? (pg.34)

What are the reasons men don't ask a woman out? (even if they're interested) (pg.41)

Should women ask men out? (pg.42)

Why do women date jerks? (You can blame biology for this) (pg.45)

How do you “get” a man to marry you? (The answer is 2 simple words) (pg.54)

What does it mean when someone says you're “playing games”? (It's a god thing!) (pg.62 )

Why do men stop courting? (No, they're not being jerks) (pg.40)

Here is an excerpt from “Lucia's Lessons of Love”:

What does, “I don't want a relationship” mean?

When someone says they don't want a relationship, they're leaving out two little words: with you. They're not interested in you for the long term so they will use many excuses, including having been badly hurt in the past, not being over their ex or not wanting to be in a relationship. If someone is interested in you, they will rarely say, “I don't want a relationship” because they know they'd be crazy to risk losing you.

Is it true absence makes the heart grow fonder?

That depends. If the other person has deep feelings for you, then yes, it's true. On the other hand, it's “Out of sight, out of mind” if you're talking about someone you've just met or the interest is casual. Comte de Bussy-Rabnutin said it best with: Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it inflames the great.

What does “friends with benefits” mean?

It means that you behave as a couple but without the benefit of monogamy and commitment. It should actually be called “friends without benefits” since this situation usually only “benefits” the man. Whether they are willing to acknowledge it or not, women aren't wired to have sex without feelings; they generally want it to mean something. If women were meant to have sex like men, they would be greater consumers of porn. There would be just as many male porn stars as there are women and Harlequin romance novels would be out of business. To quote author Pat Allen, “When women give up their parts, they give up their hearts.”

Why do I always attract the wrong people?

The problem is not that you attract the wrong people, but that you continue to keep them in your life once they have shown you they're not right for you. Time is a non-renewable resource. One it's gone, it's gone. Don't waste it on people who don't make your life better. When you decide to play big, you will no longer be interested in people that play small. Author M. Somerset Maugham said it best with, «It's a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you very

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