Real Life Romance Novel: Getting Ready to Go Out

So, I almost decided not to go ahead with this. But I'm feeling stupid brave, so here you go. A short vignette of the heroine in the hours before a date night. The idea being that the best romance novels can find the romance in any situation, without pirates, Edwardian costume, torn bodices, oiled pectoral muscles. That's what I'm striving for here.

She'd spent more money on her hair than she'd meant to, but didn't the mahogany highlights make her eyes looks darker? Her freshly cut hair swung along her jawline, shiny and sleek. She offered another silent thank-you to whatever fate had directed her to her stylist. There was nothing like feeling pretty to kickstart the evening.

She had four hours to kill before their date. She decided to indulge in a Blues mix on her iPod and the psychological thriller she'd started earlier that day at the salon. The gray skies and cool April temperatures drove her under her favorite blanket for the afternoon.

When she surfaced three hours later, she felt blurry. Her overactive imagination always sucked her so far into a novel that she had a tough time disengaging. She dove into her closet to pick an outfit, and shake off the story. Tonight, especially tonight, she didn't want fiction to interrupt her real life. She'd be with him in an hour.

She chose her clothing carefully, from the new lingerie to the sexy peep-toed wedges.

She turned on the hot water, rummaging around for a shower cap to protect the new hair. Through the noise of the spray and the bathroom fan, she heard his keys in the front door lock. She'd never known exactly how to tell him that just that jingle of metal sent shivers down her spine. He'd be dirty from work, the toasty smell of sawdust and machine oil clung to him after a day on a job site. She imagined running her fingers through his sawdusty curls and smiled.

She finished in the shower and shut herself in the bedroom to dress and primp.

When she came down the stairs, he was coming out of the second bathroom, hair damp from his own shower. She leaned in and stood up on her toes to kiss him, the welcome promising and affectionate. She closed her eyes and inhaled the clean aroma of shaving cream.

"Hi," she said.

He put his arms around her and held her tight. She rested her head on his chest, and sighed, content.