Six Degrees of Separation - Book 1, #1

What do you do when you find yourself in a midlife crisis at forty after leaving an abusive marriage? You buy a cheap villa in Italy and leave everything you knew behind to live in a remote town perched on top of a hill, with nothing but a suitcase full of clothing. Oh, and did I mention the only Italian word I know is ciao? I question my sanity as I sit at thirty thousand feet, seven hours into the flight.
But as soon as I reach my destination, I realize I've made the right decision. My villa is everything I hoped for, apart from needing some TLC, but with my divorce money, I plan on turning it into a home. My home. My sanctuary. When I find a cabinet in the garage left by the previous elderly owner with a letter inside, I get my real estate agent and only acquaintance to translate it for me. What she reveals is insane to say the least.
The letter is from a woman in search of her soulmate who had heard about a theory called Six Degrees of Separation. A crazy notion that everyone on the planet is connected by six people. Method: Send out six letters to people you know who then forward it to six people they know. Continue the process six times and it'll reach your intended person. By some miracle, the woman managed to meet the great love of her life and live happily ever after.
So, when my agent and budding friend, talks me in to testing the theory, I'm not expecting anything to happen. It can't be that easy right? Plus, I don't know six people in Italy. But she does. And so, we send out the letters, partly as a joke and partly to see if it actually works. But in the meantime, fate intervenes. It's in the form of a younger man who steals my breath. A man I never saw coming.
It would seem we're not connected by six people but two. What then happens to the handsome stranger who replies to my letter?