Squawk Radio

Many years ago I read a line from a cute little book that said "A real woman's idea of foreplay is flowers, dinner and a movie."

Although these efforts certainly don't guarantee a husband or boyfriend is going to get lucky on a particular evening, it may improve a guy's chances, right? I think we can all agree that women are often more complicated than men when it comes to passion and arousal. Courtship is wonderful. Subtleties are appreciated. The best loves scenes I've ever read are not the "Slam-Bam" variety, but the ones involving clever dialogue, playfulness and tenderness.

There are always little "clicks" in a good romance, when something the hero says or does is just the right thing to push the ON button. The slow smile. The way he touches her hair. There's a great scene in Connie's "All Through The Night" when the hero, Jack Seward, picks up a stray cat, and the heroine watches the movement of his big hand on the purring feline's fur. Click! And I'll never forget a line from Xtina's "Close To You" when the hero's smile is described as "a slice of danger". Click!

I once read a true story about a blind date that wasn't going too well--the woman wasn't at all interested in the guy, who was a mild-mannered pediatrician. But when he got an emergency call and took her with him to visit a sick child, his kindness and sudden authoritative air made her see him in a whole new light. It was a click that eventually led to marriage.

So please share . . . are there any moments or gestures in novels you've read, or real-life moments, that flipped your ON button?