“When you meet a man, don’t you always idly wonder what he’d be like in bed? I do.”

So said Helen Gurley Brown, back before women admitted they thought of anything other than the right shade of lipstick and how to whip up a nifty casserole.

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The earth moved! Eric Benet, promoting his new “Love & Life” CD, showed up at the Manhattan offices of Essence magazine last week and wowed a roomful of female journalists by launching into an a cappella version of his new song, “Chocolate Legs.” At the climactic musical moment when it seemed like Eric had made 20 intimate friends for life, news came of the L.A. earthquake. Eric put an instant stop to the mass swoon, and called his 16-year-old daughter, India, frantically. She was fine. “Oh, Daddy, it was no big deal!” Reassured, Eric returned to seduction mode. The Essence ladies were even more impressed. Sex appeal and the right priorities!

Earlier in the day at East 38th Street’s El Rio Grande, I had lunch with Eric and his ravishing ladylove Manuela Testolini. (She used to be married to Prince!) They make a traffic-stopping couple. I’ve never enjoyed swifter service at El Rio! Eric had swordfish and veggies, keeping trim in anticipation of shooting a video in two weeks. In tight-fitting black, it didn’t look to me as if he had anything to worry about. Manuela, confident of her beauty in yellow — as the Spanish proverb goes — had salmon. They are in sync. I had guacamole, chicken wings and a margarita. No video shoots loom for me.

I first met Eric a couple of years ago, in the immediate wake of his highly publicized breakup with Halle Berry. He was singularly concerned about the effect of any negative publicity on his daughter. (India’s mother was killed in a car accident.) He spoke well of Miss Berry, and still does. I had a strong feeling, on that initial encounter, that there was another side to the Benet/Berry story — his side. But Eric wouldn’t go there. Now, that drama is behind him. (And also behind Halle; she’s blissful with her new love and baby.)

Eric and Manuela, survivors of high-profile spouses, have great chemistry. She is a businesswoman/philanthropist and admirably grounded. Let me repeat — she used to be married to Prince! She and Eric have been together about a year and a half. “I’m in a good place now,” Eric said, sharing a steamy stare with Manuela. I busied myself with the tostadas. Then we all had a lively debate on whether or not Eric should shave his scruff of facial hair and just how much skin to show in his coming video. Manuela and I decided less is better. He gave his fish a baleful look and said, “Well, maybe I shouldn’t eat at all!” Despite his flashy face and body, Eric’s manner is self-deprecating and modest. His only personal trauma of late was teaching his daughter to drive. “Terrifying at first, but now she’s so good she can take me to my gigs!”

There’s a big Michael Bublé/Josh Groban vibe around Eric — he’s on the cusp. Audience reaction to him in the flesh is intense. Advance buzz on “Love & Life” indicates a smash hit.

I asked him what he’d like to do next: “Well, touring for this one, of course. And I want to do an album of R&B classics, a collection of great American pop standards — Cole Porter, Rodgers & Hart, like that. And I want to do a Christmas album. The problem is,” and Benet gave out a big laugh, “I want to do it all in the next three months!”

Click on the play button above to see Eric Benet’s video for "You’re the Only One."

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Sharon Stone has raised something like $100 million battling the worldwide scourge of AIDS over the past 12 years. (And the AIDS situation’s not getting better. The CDC just released a report that the annual infection rate is 40 percent higher than previously estimated!) Sharon has traveled everywhere, lobbied strenuously and presided over countless events where her take-no-prisoners auctioneering is legendary.

I think Sharon’s great moment as an actress is still in the future, though she has done some remarkably fine character work in recent years. (Let’s just forget about “Basic Instinct 2,” OK?) But nothing she’s done or will ever do as a movie star is a patch on her AIDS work.

Sharon, for all her good intentions, has always been a bit wacky. She’s an “out there” kind of woman and speaks right off the top of her head. (This only works if you are Katharine Hepburn, or … Cher!) Miss Stone’s careless “karma” remark after the big earthquake in China is still biting her in the well-toned tush. Stone has apologized again and again. But one thousand Chinese earthquake victims say “sorry” is simply not enough. They say they’ll sue Sharon Stone!

Such silliness! Simply have Sharon host a fundraiser/auction for survivors of the earthquake. If she is only half as effective as when she goes all-out for AIDS, it’ll be a good deed in a very naughty world.