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He had a big goofy grin on his face and seemed to be enjoying the attention he was receiving from the cashier. Were they dating? Had they dated? For some odd reason, the idea bothered her. Putting the last item on the conveyer belt she pulled the cart behind her and went to stand next to Connor, closer than she normally would.
    “You two know each other?” She looked from Gina, who was scanning and bagging items, to Connor and back again.
    She could see a flush colouring Gina’s face as Gina stopped scanning and bagging to look up at Connor and smiled.
    “We went to high school together,” Connor informed her.
    “Yeah, he was my high school sweetheart.” Her grin widened and Samantha had to force herself from rolling her eyes.
    Kill me now , she groaned inwardly.
    “But then he decided to move away to the big city and left us small-town folks.”
    She cocked a brow up at him. “The big city?”
    Connor cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. “Yeah, well. That’s the past. I’m home now, happily living the rural life.”
    “He’s been a hermit. Won’t even go to the barn dances.”
    Samantha feigned outrage. “You’re kidding! Not a single one!”
    Gina shook her head. “Nope and not for a lack of me trying. As you can imagine there’s a serious shortage of bachelors in this area.”
    “That’s crazy. When’s this barn dance?”
    “Every Saturday night, no exception, at the MacMillian farm. There’s one tomorrow night.”
    “We’ll go,” she said, tilting her face up to eye Connor. “Ain’t that right Connor? We’d love to go.”
    “You know, I don’t think…”
    She gave him a little playful hip bump. “What else better do we have to do tomorrow night?”
    He gave her a warning glare. She ignored it.
    “Come on. I’ve always wanted to go to a real live barn dance, it’s totally on my bucket list.”
     
    ~*~*~*~*~
     
    He’d been avoiding social events since he moved back a few years ago. He really didn’t have an interest in dating, or meeting someone. And what Gina was saying was true, there was a serious shortage of bachelors there. Most single men moved on; there wasn’t much to offer men with ambitions beyond being a farmer or working at one of the shops in town.
    Seeing the mischievous twinkle in her eyes, he knew she was just making fun and it was pissing him off. It was bad enough she was treating his employees and friends like servants, but now the locals were fair game as well? Alas, she had him backed into a corner. He had no choice but to give in and hope the hell she’d behave herself at the dance and not make a complete mockery of it.
    He looked from Samantha to Gina’s hopeful stare and back to Samantha.
    “Please Connor. Take me to the barn dance. What else do we have to do tomorrow night, stay home and play dominoes?”
    Her tone was dripping of sarcasm and it was seriously pissing him off. He looked over at Gina and was relieved to see it didn’t appear she caught on. He gritted his teeth and forced a smile onto his lips. “Fine. We’ll go.”
    “Wow, I can’t believe you’ve convinced him to go,” Gina gushed, “I’ve been trying to convince him to go since he got back.”
    Samantha wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a quick side hug. “Oh, I just adore this guy. He goes out of his way to make me happy.” She motioned to the bags of clothing. “He even took me clothes shopping! How cool is that?”
    Gina’s eyes caught his and she smiled. “I know, he’s a great catch.”
    He really wanted to wring Samantha’s little neck, right then and there. He was just grateful Gina didn’t know what she was really like, otherwise she’d realize Samantha was simply making fun and her feelings would be hurt. Gina had always been a sweet, soft-hearted woman, she didn’t deserve to be mocked.
    Did Samantha have no feelings or regard for anyone?
    After paying Gina, they quickly said their goodbyes and he grabbed