His eyebrow arched when he spotted you across the airport, you shared a laugh when you boarded the same plane as him, the smile was wiped off your faces when your cousin and his friend showed up to pick you both up. The one time of year you thought you were going to enjoy some time alone, now your Lieutenant was attending the same wedding as you.

It came naturally, lying, pretending. “No, first time seeing this guy,” you joked. “Name’s Simon,” he introduced himself politely. Neither of you had much time to check in with your loved ones, so you were unaware of the relations between the groom, the bride, and yourselves. Pretending not to know Simon helped you not see him as something related to your job.

You had flown out to Spain for the weekend, where the couple had decided to get married in an old church on the hills near Madrid, and you would’ve all slept in a nearby winery, which was going to host the reception as well. You also realized how much you had missed out on when, once at the winery, you saw your ex, his arm draped around your cousin’s sister’s shoulders. You didn’t greet him back when he waved at you.

You found Simon again before the rehearsal dinner; you would pretend not to know each other, but having a familiar face close made the whole thing a little less awkward. Your eyes kept falling on the table on the other side of the room, on his fingers tangled with hers. It didn’t take him long to figure out why.

His shoulder brushed against yours as he leaned closer. “You can pretend with me if you want to get back at him, Sergeant,” he whispered. You hesitated at first, but as the night moved forward, the wine in your system increased. You were dancing with Simon, and that seemed to have caught your ex’s attention.

“Fish caught the bait?” He asked in a low voice, slowly making you twirl. “Looks like it.” You replied, but you found yourself being drawn to the way your Lieutenant’s eyes were looking at you more.