I’m certain I read this book in late 1999-early 2000. It’s about an erudite middle-aged woman who never had much romance in her life and never received much attention from men. I remember her explaining the one thing she has going for her is that she has stayed fit while other women her age gained weight. She never had a husband or kids. On the plane ride over she meets a man who is kind of bumbling and she doesn’t think would be a good fit for her. The book was probably set in the 90s. I think the man was a handyman. They fall in love when they’re both in London.  If my memory serves, I believe the man dies.