It's his voice that gets to me, really.

He isn't good-looking, after all. His hair (which is thinning) is a nondescript shade of brown, and he's really much too short, barely inches taller than I. His eyes (hazel), are not compelling, he is stocky and stolid, and as for muscle-tone... well, no.

He's bright, of course, but not brilliant. As a correspondent, he isn't inspired, and he doesn't communicate his feelings any better than the next man.

His wit is ... mediocre, funny, but unoriginal -- not startling in any way.

All in all, he's just another man. Except...

That voice. Sort of a whisper, sort of a purr -- so warm, and friendly and, yes, seductive. It does it to me every time. I hear it and I ...

... I melt. I catch my breath. I do the whole "putty in his hands" routine.

Alexander Graham Bell has a lot to answer for.