Scent the beginning of a romance (5)
I believe the answer is:
aroma
This clue might be a double definition.
'scent' is the first definition.
(synonyms)
'beginning of a romance' is the second definition.
The definition and answer can be both human attributes as well as being singular nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I don't see?
'the' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for aroma that I've seen before include "Distinctive scent" , "Subtle quality" , "Food fragrance" , "Spicy fragrance" , "Pervasive quality" .)