Sealed with a Kiss
Nov 23rd 2009
Suzanne EnochOn Writing! & Suzanne Enoch
I’m at that place in the book I’m working on. You know, that place. The moment when the hero and heroine, who’ve been sparring and sparking for a good ten or eleven chapters, finally need to be together or they’ll both combust.
In many ways, I think this scene is the most important one in the book. I know the characters are going to end up together, and the reader knows it, but now I need them to feel it. The reader needs to have a sense that these two people, whether they believe it yet or not, are meant for one another, and no other will do. At the same time, their story isn’t over yet. 
The hero and heroine have come together, but the building isn’t finished. I’ve got the bed, but I still need walls, a roof, a floor, and windows. And cement. Lots of cement.
The moment isn’t always the first sex scene, however. I was re-watching The Last of the Mohicans the other day, and I can tell you to the second when the hero and heroine have their moment. It’s when she asks, “What are you looking at, sir?” and he answers, “I’m looking at you, miss.” I still get goosebumps 
when I watch that scene, that moment when you know that whatever happens, those two are going to end up together.
Do you have a favorite book or movie moment, when you don’t just know but you feel that the hero and heroine belong together? Is there a movie where you just didn’t believe it, where the two characters were together because that’s what the script said, and not because they were meant to be that way?
34 Comments »
34 Responses to “Sealed with a Kiss”
Trini on 23 Nov 2009 at 3:36 am #
Nice topic Suzanne!!! In this moment comes to my mind 3 wonderful movies in which the protagonists cannot, or they would not, to be together…
“A walk on the clouds”: Keanu Reeves (Paul Sutton) and Aitana Sánchez-Gijón (Victoria Aragón). They can’t be together because Paul is married, he only wants to help Victoria…. and the first kiss is…. perfect… I really love this movie
“The mirror has to faces”: Barbra Streisand (Rose Morgan) and Jeff Bridges (Gregory Larkin). Beautiful movie. Gregory resigns to sex, only wants a marriage based on the friendship and the comradeship, for that reason he looks for a woman whom he does not attract to him sexually… But sometimes, the things change.
“Down with love”: Ewan McGregor (Catcher Block) and Renée Zellweger (Barbara Novak). Funny movie. They have two different personalities, two different ways to see the life, in principle they are incompatible… But you never know by where it is going to take you the life…
I really love this 3 movies… Keanu, Jeff and Ewan are perfect in their roles and they are very hot…
Trini on 23 Nov 2009 at 4:09 am #
For all of you… enjoy it!!
aaaiiinnnsssss I LOVE Keanu… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCdubFz1mHU&feature=related
Jeff is really adorable… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj3UMD4NndI
uuufffff Ewan is really hot, he drives me crazy… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5megJgs48vI
Oooooppssss How could I forgot Pride and Prejudice? impossible love? inconvenient love?
My dear Mr. Darcy….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a81908KO6U&NR=1
Laurie G on 23 Nov 2009 at 5:10 am #
Pretty Woman when Richard walks into the bar and sees Vivienne looking so beautiful and Vivaldi is playing in the background! AHHH!!
B on 23 Nov 2009 at 5:26 am #
The Sound of Music, and this may be a weird moment to find they belong together, but I feel it’s right when the Captain comes back from Vienna with Max and Baroness, and Maria has taken the children out in clothes made out of old curtains. He sends the children in and starts yelling at her, she tells him off, and he interrupts her “You will not tell me about my children.” and she says: “I’m not done, captain.” and he says: ‘Yes you are, captain. Fraulein.” Then, the children start to sing, and he asks what is that sound and she says: “It’s singing.” He looks VERY annoyed and kind of rolls his eyes and says: “Yes, I realize it’s singing, but WHO is singing?”
Call me weird, but THAT is their moment.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
(and, yes, I know the whole The Sound of Music memorized)
Gwynlyn MacKenzie on 23 Nov 2009 at 5:40 am #
I’m a Quiet Man fan. Put Maureen O’Hara and John Wayne in any movie together and get out of Dodge.
Bronte on 23 Nov 2009 at 5:43 am #
Suzanne, the last of the mohicans is one of my top 3 all time movies and like you that moment gives me shivers everytime I see it. Its not a film but the one of my all time favourite TV series is the x-files and the moment that cemented the Mulder-Scully relationship for me was the scene where Scully is in hospital in a coma and life support has been discontinued and Mulder goes and talks to her. It still makes me cry. Also in “Lord of Scoundrels” the scene in the pawnshop where Dain and Jess meet – theres not one moment but you throughout the whole scene you know its meant to be. A movie where I totally didn’t believe the relationship was A Knights Tale. The whole way through the movie I was like “why is the hero with that princess chick? He should totally be with the blacksmith chick”, and that spoilt the whole movie for me.
Cail on 23 Nov 2009 at 6:53 am #
THE NOTEBOOK!!!! Right after they are in the boat, and it starts to rain and they’re shouting about having written to each other. Sigh. It’s amazing. Plus it continues into one of the hottest sex scenes ever.
LoriHandeland on 23 Nov 2009 at 7:42 am #
I always liked the beginning of the Princess Bride where he keeps saying “as you wish” in increasingly more “I adore you-ish” tones. It’s so sweet.
I never understood why Glenn Close in The Natural didn’t smack Robert Redford upside the head instead of waiting for him sweetly for the entire movie. Get over yourself already, Bob.
Amy Scott on 23 Nov 2009 at 8:10 am #
Johnny and Baby from Dirty Dancing, they had such great chemisty. When Johnny was accused of stealing, and baby admitted to her father that she spent the night with him, and therefore he couldn’t have taken the wallet, sealed it for me. Also, the scenes where he is teaching her to dance are hot!
amy1242 on 23 Nov 2009 at 8:11 am #
I can’t think of any movies, right off the top of my head, where I thought the H/H shouldn’t be together, but a couple of books come to mind. I had to stop reading one because the hero was a stand up guy and the heroine didn’t deserve him. I kept thinking the story would change direction and another character would be introduced, but it never happened. It just didn’t work for me.
I loved Last of the Mohicans. The part where the music was playing, with all the people around and they “saw” each other. Didn’t speak, he just grabbed her hand and off they went. My heart did flips!!
TrishD on 23 Nov 2009 at 8:30 am #
I just love Somewhere in Time. The old lady with the pocket watch telling Richard to “Come back to me”; the picture of the beautiful woman he is enraptured with; the music box; the extremes he went to be with her. All of it added up to them needing to be together. The moment for me though was near the end of the movie. It’s the morning after he’s been tied up to keep him away from her, she has left and he’s heartbroken… then all of a sudden you hear “Richard!” It’s Elise! I can still see her running down the stairs to him while he’s running up. And then that darn penny!
Claudia Dain on 23 Nov 2009 at 8:52 am #
Suzanne, you nailed it: The “I’m looking at you, Miss.” scene in Last of the Mohicans. I LOVE that scene. Her breath catches. She looks away. Looks back at him. He smiles, turns, and leaves. And YOU KNOW that this is it!! This the moment when you know that =they= know.
Whoop! Fanning myself.
The Quiet Man…scene where he’s on the hunter and she’s walking along the road…he pulls up the horse, hard, and they stare at each other, she says his name, he says hers, and then he rides off. Whew!! Boiling tension there. You know from then on that they will find a way to get married.
Unfortunately, I can think of a lot of movies where I don’t believe it. Normally, I think it’s a casting problem.
elsiehogarth on 23 Nov 2009 at 9:11 am #
I agree with Lori on the Princess Bride. Farm Boy’s “As you wish” is a definite ‘it’ moment. In Last of the Mohicans I love Hawkeye’s line to Cora: “I will find you.” Ahhhh!
Romeo & Juliette-Leonardo Dicaprio & Clare Danes-when they are looking at each other through the aquarium.
An Affair to Remember-Cary Grant & Deborah Kerr-there are alot of great moments but the one I love is when he visits her in her apartment and she’s on the sofa and realizes that she can’t walk. It’s a tear jerker.
A Room w/a View- Helen Boham Carter & Julian Sands-The kiss in the barley field in Florence, Italy.
The Gay Divorcee-Fred astaire & Ginger Rogers. All their dance moves talk about romance but them dancing “Night & Day” is classic.
Book: Amanda Quick’s Ravished very sexy love scene in a cave full of smugglers stolen goods.
Deb Marlowe on 23 Nov 2009 at 9:17 am #
Hi Suzanne! I love those ‘meant to be’ movie moments. I thought the Keira Knigthly version of Pride and Prejudice had that great moment when he hands her up into the carriage and they both ‘feel’ the jolt. Loved that!
I agree with Claudia that a lot of it has to do with casting in movies. I always believe that Doris and Rock are going to be happy. OTOH, I didn’t believe in the romance at all in the Benjamin Button movie–no chemistry between Brad and Cate!
Karen Rose on 23 Nov 2009 at 9:20 am #
I immediately thought Quiet Man, too! Love the scene at the church where he scoops up the holy water, not realizing that’s a big oops. Later Barry Fitzgerald tells him to stop “playing patty fingers in the holy water.” I can still hear the brogue in my mind. Of course, my fave scene in the movie is the windy scene where he plants one on her. Love that movie…
B, I also love Sound of Music. I know the scene you mention. I also love the scene where they’re dancing in the moonlight and she twirls away and he holds out his hand. THere is a tiny smirk on his face that says, “Yep, this is it.” LOVE, LOVE that movie!
Fave cute scene – Greek Wedding when he keeps walking by her window at the Travel Agency. You know it, then.
So many more! Must think on this today.
As for ones that don’t work? Must mull.
Archer on 23 Nov 2009 at 9:21 am #
Deb I sooo agree with the P&P hand scene. Love it!
Archer on 23 Nov 2009 at 9:23 am #
I was dying to read Johanna Lindsey’s Gentle Rogue after I finished the previous book because of how James kept saying she intrigued me
Still one of my all time favorite books.
Suzanne Enoch on 23 Nov 2009 at 10:38 am #
Oh, I’d forgotten The Quiet Man. Yes! Great example of where the audience FEELS that these two will be together.
And yes – the P&P scene where he hands her into the carriage and then shakes his fingers. Sigh. Now I want to go watch it again.
Pesky on 23 Nov 2009 at 11:21 am #
I can’t pick just a few, that moment is why I read romance. It’s also how you can tell if the book is a good one, if that moment is reached and you get the ewah! ick! feeling…not a good book.
In the movies there are a few moments that stand out, most of which have been mentioned: Love Actually, when Colin Firth is stumbling through his proposal, when Hugh Grant is stumbling over his, the little boy making the epic airport run and yes, I do like the kid that goes to America convinced he’s going to get the girl because well, american’s love a british accent. White Christmas, Danny Kaye singing “The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing.” The Lord of the Rings Trilogy when Samwise and Frodo…oh wait no…Samwise and Rosie finally get makin munchkins. Ahhhh…gotta love the movies.
There’s something about the characters in Pride and Predjudice that carries through no matter how it’s interpreted, you felt it in Bride and Predjudice as only bollywood could tell it as well.
Kathleen O on 23 Nov 2009 at 11:35 am #
Oh I think the my top movie would have to be An Affair to Remeber, followed by the Quiet Man. In the running is a movie with Jane Fonda and Rod Taylor.. Sunday in New York.. I have this movie and I watch it over and over again.. I just love the build up of the attraction between the two and where it is leading. If you ever get a chance to see this movie it is a classic Jane Fonda romantic comedy.. And someone also mentioned Love Actually another fav of mine… So many great moments in romance..
Claudia Dain on 23 Nov 2009 at 11:45 am #
KathleenO, I =just= watched Sunday in New York last week. What a darling movie! Such a lovely tension in that the subject matter is quite serious, but the delivery is fun.
I love the scene where Jane is explaining to her brother why Rod wouldn’t sleep with her, because she was “a beginner. That’s the kind of man he is!” she says proudly.
“That’s the kind of man I am,” Rod repeats, sounding totally embarrassed.
LOL funny.
Lisa H on 23 Nov 2009 at 12:28 pm #
Suzanne – I am almost finished with “After the Scandal” sooooo good! Just wanted to say thank you…you know how to do sexual chemistry well!
Nicole Jordan on 23 Nov 2009 at 12:39 pm #
Boy, these are all great examples! Y’all are bringing back wonderful memories.
One of my favorites is the A&E Pride and Prejudice, when Elizabeth is playing the pianoforte and teasing with Col Fitzwilliam, and Darcy (Colin Firth) is watching her across the room. Then another scene when E helps Darcy’s young sister avoid a horrible moment of embarrasment and you can see Darcy thanking E with his eyes. Just wonderful. You just know right then he’s fallen in love with her for real and not just infatuation.
Sabrina Jeffries on 23 Nov 2009 at 12:57 pm #
For me, it’s that moment in While You Were Sleeping when he smiles at her as she leaves after meeting him the first time. He gets that loopy smile, and you know he’s a goner. I love those moments, too!
Suzanne Enoch on 23 Nov 2009 at 1:00 pm #
Thank you, Lisa H.
One moment that has never worked for me is Anakin Skywalker/Padme Amidala. The script says they have to end up together, but I totally know that she was really in love with Obi-Wan Kenobi. I never saw the chemistry between Anakin and Padme. And I wanted to.
LoriHandeland on 23 Nov 2009 at 1:26 pm #
I agree about the Anakin/Padme thing, Suzie. Did you ever hear the Weird Al song about Episode I where he sings about Anakin hitting on the Queen even though he’s only 9 years old. That pretty much summed up the whole thing for me. Ick.
Claudia Dain on 23 Nov 2009 at 2:28 pm #
Lori, I love that Weird Al song!! I always end up remembering his lyrics and forgetting the original song ones. The man is an evil genius.
Definitely no chemistry between Anakin and Padme, which makes me wonder if it’s a casting thing or a script thing.
Chemistry I always believe? Rene Russo and anybody.
With Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon 84, the scar showing scene: oh, my! Hottest scene ever!
With Pierce Brosnan in the art theft movie: every look was a come-on.
With Kevin Costner in the golf movie: sweetly and slowly they come together. So believable.
She’s an amazing actress to get me to always believe it. I think she’s horribly underrated.
Suzanne Enoch on 23 Nov 2009 at 4:07 pm #
Ooh, I thought of another one. I totally believed Indiana Jones and Marian, but I didn’t believe Indy and Willie. Not for a second.
LauraR on 23 Nov 2009 at 4:40 pm #
oh my, for sexual tension try the Steve McQueen/Faye Dunnaway movie The Thomas Crown Affair. The scene where they are playing chess is so hot the film almost melts. whooooeeee.
But my fave is The Quiet Man where John Wayne’s character scares Maureen O’Hara’s character when he catches her in his cottage and she tries to escape. The hesitation as he gazes into her eyes before planting a big kiss on her shows a lot of emotion. As Kathleen O said, any movie with Wayne & O’Hara has great chemistry, although she had just a small part in The Wings of Eagles, so there wasn’t much there.
Louisa Cornell on 23 Nov 2009 at 7:37 pm #
I am so glad to see The Quiet Man mentioned by so many people. I absolutely LOVE that movie and there are so many ahhhh moments in it.
And that scene in Last of the Mohicans just makes me melt into the floor. And the scene where they leave to avoid a battle and he tells her to submit and survive “No matter what occurs I will find you.” SWOON!
The scene in Slightly Dangerous where Wulfric is sitting in a tree arguing with Christine! This is the last man you would EVER expect to behave in such an undignified manner and he does, because of her. Love it!
The almost kiss in the Knightley/MacFaddyen P & P when she tells him he is the LAST man she would ever marry and they both know it just isn’t true.
Karen Hawkins on 23 Nov 2009 at 8:47 pm #
Oh, Suzanne, what a great topic! These are some great movies moments! I need to see The Quiet Man again — it’s funny but my mil and I were discussing that movie at dinner tonight. Small world, eh?
My favorite This Is It moment is from It’s a Wonderful Life when he’s angry with Mary that he’s falling for her because he knows it means yet another line tying him to the town he’s wanted to leave his whole life. And he says he doesn’t want a job in plastics or a house or marriage … and then he sees her crying and he knows he just can’t leave her and he just whispers her name. I’m getting smiley just thinking about it!
Pesky on 23 Nov 2009 at 9:26 pm #
Claudia, I had forgotten The Thomas Crowne Affair, and I love the movie. I pulled it out after reading your blurb and rewatched it, the dancing scene and the scene where he flips the boat…*fanning self*.
Suzanne Enoch on 23 Nov 2009 at 9:29 pm #
Y’all have been inspiring me. My h/h aren’t going to know what hit ‘em. *g*
Leslie on 25 Nov 2009 at 1:55 pm #
One of the hottest movie moments for me is the Remake of Sabrina. Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond when Harrison Ford is talking to her about not seeing his younger brother because it would cause a scandal. There is just something there that makes it. Ooof!
Also Love Actually is one of the best at it but not just for one couple. The entire movie is just full of moments where you just can’t wait for them to realize it’s right. All the different stages of love from strangers meeting on a porn set to an older couple finding ways to continue loving it just moves you!