Forty-five minutes later the man was sweating a lot, but didn't appear to be in too bad a shape, which surprised the hell out of Stacey. What also sur...rised her was his apparent lack of interest in her ladies. Actually, she admitted to herself, that wasn't quite accurate. He had been showing appreciation for the women surrounding him, but hadn't been drooling or staring. Instead, he'd concentrated on the class.Once the warm-down was over, he helped put the mats away but without trying to take. Her small rounded nose gave cuteness to her features, but her stare and the straight line of her mouth with its thin lips, even the half I could see not hidden by the microphone of the headset looped around her dainty right ear, spoke of intelligence and seriousness found in a dedicated thirty year old woman belying any suggestion that cuteness represented an empty headed innocence.Carefully hidden buckles where the baffles held support for the costume having been unbuckled by her assistants,. He couldn't even figure why several similar soppy aprons were to befound all around the house when Grace never seemed to wear them.After that incident Grace quickly contrived that certain tasks in thehouse required that he "protect his clothes." Any task involving water,like washing up or cleaning vegetables required an apron. Any task thatmight conceivably soil his clothes required an apron, such as helpingwith baking, or handling food. Pretty much when Grace wore an apron hewould too, and. I would not have appreciated the gesture a week before. He must have noticed, because he mumbled something like, ‘Look real nice.’ I punched him in the arm, which made him smile. Then he rubbed his arm, which made me smile—until he winked. We headed south to Little Italy. New Jersey thrives on Italian food and this was the mecca everyone talkrd about. Francine had a room reserved at Civitano Brothers Trattoria, on Cleveland near Canal. It did not seem like we had done much, but the time added.