Jonathan arrived at the hotel half an hour after Maddy and wasted no time checking in and dropping his bag before they set out on foot for MOMA, stopping to grab a takeaway coffee on the way.

They had about five hours to fit in as much as they could and Jonathan was intent on trying to get around three museums in that time. Having visited more recently, Maddy knew that even for an illusionist, that was going to be one impossible trick to pull off, but she went along for the ride, waiting for Jonathan to run out of steam and enthusiasm at some point along the way. Personally, she'd rather have taken in a show, one of the many matinees on and off Broadway that day but, given that she was here a lot more regularly than he was, she let him take the lead. Besides, they wouldn't have been able to chat at the theatre, but this way they could continue to catch up on each other's lives while they wandered through the exhibits.

Plus she could tell him off for his decidedly terrible taste in art.

"What are you talking about?" she baited him, "This is the best thing in the whole museum. It's like a giant red shiny Bourbon. Who wouldn't be happy seeing that every day?"

"Me!" he said, affronted. "It's awful. What's the point in it? Where's the skill?"

"Why in God's name did you want to come to the Museum of Modern Art if you don't even like modern art?" she asked pointedly and with a fair amount of frustration.

"I do like modern art. Just not that monstrosity," he gestured towards the huge red biscuit-like sculpture.

"It's supposed to be thought-provoking. But I imagine your brain can't cope with anything that can't be explained within five seconds, can it?"

He threw her a withering glare and carried on to the next room to be faced with thousands of Kusama polka dots. Maddy grinned in anticipation.

As she'd expected, after traipsing through both MOMA and The Guggenheim, neither of them could face yet another expansive, white-walled room filled with art, and instead of tackling The Met they chose to take a walk through Central Park. They made their way across to the western side of the park and grabbed a seat in the outdoor area of Tavern on the Green. Maddy opted for a gin while Jonathan ordered a local tap beer.

"I'm exhausted already," said Maddy, "I hope I find a second wind later."

"Me too," he agreed. "It's a sit-down affair, is it?"

She nodded. "Apparently they serve dinner while the awards are going on, so it's all over and done with quite quickly. Then a big party afterwards with a band and a free bar."

"Can't say no to that," he smiled. "And who have you passed me off as this time? Gynaecologist? Rabbi? Accountant?"

Maddy grinned. "Don't worry. I haven't said a word. You can tell them yourself."

"That's even worse," he groaned.

"Mmmm," she murmured sympathetically. "Hope you've got a few tricks ready to go to calm the masses once they find out what you do."

Jonathan brightened at that. "What, advertising?" he said with glee, realising he wouldn't have to mention magic once.

Maddy made a mental note to ensure she brought up his previous job with as many people as she could. Not only would she be able to watch him squirm as he faced the annoying questions it would elicit, but she also enjoyed seeing him in his element when he was able to amaze people. Much as he'd always grouched about it, she knew he secretly loved it.

"So come on, tell me about this advertising malarkey," she continued, still disbelieving that he'd moved into a different industry. "What did you do?"

"I was a creative director – coming up with ideas and concepts to get a brand message or promotion across. Or working with our creative teams to make sure they came up with the best ideas."

"Did you like it?"

He shrugged. "Some of it. There are much worse jobs. I still got to engage my brain. But I had to deal with some real arseholes. You know, having to re-record whole ads because a pause lasted half a second too long."

"Yes, I can't quite imagine you fully on side with your capitalist makers."

He smiled ruefully. "I think I managed to convince them most of the time."

He spent the rest of their sit-down telling her about some of the ads he'd created, and as they wandered back towards the hotel she explained some of her recent journalism work. She was gratified to realise just how much Jonathan had kept up with what she'd written, having obviously read what articles he could find with care and attention.

Once they'd made it back, they realised their rooms were on the same floor of the hotel, so they agreed that Jonathan would come past and pick her up an hour later, once they'd got their gladrags on.

Maddy opened the door wide to allow Jonathan to come in while she did a last minute hair and make-up check. She was wearing a floor-length, black velvet dress with long sleeves which had a V-shaped neckline, plunging down to accentuate her figure. Her chin-length hair was styled simply, teased into soft waves which framed her face, completed with a dash of striking red lipstick. The effect was stunning.

"Wow. You look lovely," he said, causing her to freeze in the mirror at such an unexpected compliment.

She looked at him in the reflection and gave him a small, unsure smile which only added to the impact and caused his cheeks to start to redden. "Hurry up then," he blustered, trying to escape from the corner he'd managed to fold himself into, "we don't want to be late. God knows how long a taxi will take in this traffic."

"Alright, keep your curly mop on," she said, glad for the distraction, equally as taken with the sight of him in a tux. "I just need to get the tickets," she added as she rummaged through her huge handbag, finding them and popping them into her much smaller evening bag. She took one last look around the room to see if she'd forgotten anything before saying, "Right. Ready. Lead the way."

The taxi dropped them at the Manhattan Center just on time and they gladly accepted a glass of champagne and made their way into the ballroom to find their seats. Maddy was a freelancer, working for multiple different publications, but she did the majority of her longform work for The Washington Post, so they were seated at a table of twelve with employees, most of whom Maddy knew fairly well.

They were last to arrive and Maddy went round the table, made all the introductions between them and her 'old friend' Jonathan. He was perplexed to hear the others at the table congratulating her and asked her as soon as they sat down, "What are all the congratulations for?"

"Oh," she said, embarrassed, an emotion he'd rarely seen from her. "I, um…I'm nominated for an award."

"What?" he exclaimed. "What award?"

"It's for the best longform political article of the year. For my piece on the Republican campaign funds. It's not a big deal. And I'm certainly not going to win."

She's being far too modest," chimed the man sitting to Maddy's left, whose name Jonathan had already forgotten and who'd overheard their exchange. "It's hugely competitive. Even to be nominated is a big honour. And she could definitely win."

Maddy gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks Akshay, but we both know they'll never give it to a colonialist."

He laughed and Jonathan took the moment to pick up their champagne glasses, handing Maddy's to her as she turned back to him. He had wondered why she had a plus one but the others didn't seem to; now it made sense that she must have got an extra ticket because of her nomination. "Cheers. And congratulations," he said sincerely, then clinked his glass against hers. As they both took a sip, he tried his best to ignore the frisson which had pulsed through his body as he'd looked into her eyes.

It was easy and absorbing chat at the table as the meal was served, and Jonathan marvelled at how much he'd missed conversation with people who cared about so much more than office rumours and local gossip. He found himself involved in fascinating debates about British politics, climate change and indigenous rights and was able to hold his own with most of the discussions.

Maddy excused herself to call home and say goodnight to Sophie, and was accosted by her friend and sometimes-colleague Rina on her way back inside. "Where have you been hiding him?" she asked. "He's amazing."

Maddy smiled with more than a little sadness. "Let's just say that boat sailed a long time ago."

"So you're not…?" asked Rina, looking surprised. "Could've fooled me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" she continued, not wanting to cause offence if they weren't a couple like she'd assumed. "The way you look at each other. It doesn't seem like just friends."

"Oh God," groaned Maddy. "I was trying not to be that obvious."

"If it's any consolation," said Rina with conviction, "it's definitely not just you."

Unsure how to reply to that or what to think about it, she looped her arm through Rina's and steered them back towards their table. "I need another drink."

As it turned out, Maddy didn't win the award, which she was quite relieved about, preferring it to go to a 'local' journalist, although she couldn't deny a pang of disappointment not to hear her name after the amount of work she'd put into it. With the anticipation of the announcement over and done with, she settled into enjoying the evening and at Akshay's request she and Jonathan regaled the rest of the table with stories of their mystery-solving exploits. She'd forgotten he could spin a story just as well as she could, and their table companions were rapt at all the incredible and sometimes scary situations they'd found themselves in.

Jonathan only had to do three magic tricks after dinner to assuage the requests that came his way, and after that was over with he and Maddy sat together with topped up glasses, commenting on the various media folks around the room; he hadn't expected it to be such a grand affair with so many recognisable American and international broadcasting faces in attendance.

"Right, come on, enough chat. You have to give me at least one dance," she pleaded, standing up and reaching her hand out to pull him up from his chair. Coupled with the fact that he knew he wouldn't be able to withstand her cajoling for long, the alcohol had also helped to loosen him up so he got up without too much grumbling and led her on to the dance floor to the sounds of the band playing 'Part-Time Lover'. They shared a chuckle remembering Adam's sister Kitty attacking 'Blind' Hewie Harper on live television and laughingly pondered whether Stevie Wonder was fooling the world and had also managed to have some eye surgery somewhere along the way.

The band then struck up an orchestral song which was nonetheless fast-paced, for which Maddy gave a grateful internal thanks. Having been a pop afficionado in her youth, she immediately recognised it as 'Love's Theme' by the Love Unlimited Orchestra – it had just made the UK top ten in 1974 if she wasn't mistaken - and tried unsuccessfully to stop a wry grin escaping.

To her surprise, Jonathan took her right hand in his left, and drew her in towards him with his other arm around her waist. "I was forced to learn to dance for my wedding," he admitted with a grimace. "Might as well make use of it." The thought of that made Maddy feel slightly queasy – another reminder that a lot of history had taken place in their intervening years – so she made a joke instead of thinking about it too much. "At least one of us knows what they're doing then."

The thoughts went quickly to the back of her mind as he told her to follow his lead, which was easier than expected with his arms holding her tightly to him. Moving in sync across the dance floor, she gave Rina a faux glare when she saw the other woman raising her eyebrows suggestively as she spun past her.

They danced some more, talked some more, drank some more, and laughed some more and as the event came to a close, neither of them wanted the evening to end just yet. They agreed to search out a bar for more drinks, and headed out into the night to find somewhere in the vicinity. They wandered around for a while and just as Maddy began to complain about her feet hurting, they heard music emanating from an underground spot and decided to head down the stairs to take a look.

They were surprised to find a large bar filled with cosy seating, small tables and warm, subtle lighting. It was only after they'd sat down and ordered a drink that they realised they'd stumbled into a very upmarket karaoke bar. In spite of Jonathan grousing about how much he hated amateurs singing, they enjoyed the first couple of singers, then Maddy headed off to find the loo.

"What was that?" he asked suspiciously as she reappeared, having seen her talking to the guy who was manning the karaoke machine.

"I signed us up to do Islands In The Stream. Thought you'd be up for it."

'You what?" he spluttered.

"You can be Dolly and I'll be Kenny," she said with a straight-face, then cracked up seeing his appalled reaction. "Don't worry," she placated him. "Just wait and see."

He didn't have to wait too long before Maddy was called up to the mic – alone, thank goodness - and he saw the opening lyrics for the Carly Simon song 'Nobody Does It Better' come up on the screen.

He couldn't deny that she looked the part, dressed up to the nines, but he had no idea what was going to come out of her mouth. He was subsequently completely astonished when she began to sing and brought the room to a standstill with the beauty and power of her voice, entrancing everyone for the song's duration.

There was a sense of longing to her singing and Jonathan couldn't help but relate the lyrics to his own rekindling feelings about her. He knew he was being sentimental but, in that moment, he really didn't care, and he allowed himself to be transported to a world where they had managed to make it through life's challenges together. Polly didn't cross his mind once.

After she'd crushed the final notes, Maddy handed the microphone back nonchalantly and stepped off the stage with a small smile as people clapped and whooped at her performance. She peered into the darkness and found her way back to their table, finally able to see Jonathan's face again outside of the glare of the stage lights.

"Fancy a go?" she enquired with a grin, faced by complete silence from Jonathan who seemed to have forgotten how to speak. "Well, if I'd know how easy it was to shut you up, I'd have taken it upon myself to sing a lot more often," she quipped.

"How have I never seen you sing before?" replied a shell-shocked Jonathan.

"Haven't you?" she shrugged.

"No! How…? I knew you could hold a tune but…that was incredible!" he said, still in disbelief.

She allowed him a small glimpse of the pride that surfaced with his comment, then shrugged again, "That song was my party trick in my twenties. Always managed to silence a room. I haven't done that in years."

"But you could be professional. That was…" he came to a stop, realising he was making her a little uncomfortable, but he continued staring at her like she'd recently arrived from another planet.

"No need to go over the top," she chided him warmly. "I love singing but it was never what I wanted to do with my life. If I can still turn a few heads when I pick up a microphone, that's lovely."

Jonathan shook his head and got that faraway look in his eye that only surfaced when he was trying to solve an extremely difficult puzzle; in this case, how he had never been aware of this huge talent she had.

Maddy looked at him affectionately. "Now there's a look I haven't seen for a long time," she said, bringing him out of his daydream.

"I thought you were just doing it for a laugh. I didn't think you'd sound like that!"

"Give me some credit, Jonathan," she smiled. "I think I embarrassed myself enough in front of you over the years to know not to willingly give you something else to tease me about."

"What other talents have you got hidden away that I don't know about?" he queried lightly.

Wouldn't you like to know?" she replied with a smirk and a raise of her eyebrow.

Realising immediately how inappropriate that sounded, Maddy gave herself a swift internal kick and bit her lip as she watched to see his response. Jonathan couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat at her unintentional flirting, and a cascade of memories resurfaced which he tried unsuccessfully to tamper back down with a gulp of his drink.

A man walking back from the bar to his table behind them chose that moment to congratulate Maddy on her singing, bringing a warm smile back to her face. The passer-by didn't help, however, when he then quipped "And you're a lucky man," to Jonathan, who smiled weakly and wished for the floor to swallow him up.

The pair were gratefully interrupted by a new singer who didn't quite have the same handle on tone and melody that Maddy had, and they grimaced at each other as the first notes of Christina Aguilera's 'Beautiful' reached their ears.

"Drink?" they both asked at the same time.

After another couple of drinks and a final 'one for the road', they made their way slowly back to the hotel, opting to walk instead of taking a cab. Maddy decided that the alcohol had helped numb her feet enough that she'd be able to make it in her heels, and she looped her arm through Jonathan's as they ambled through the city streets engaged in easy conversation.

Finally back at the hotel, they took the lift together up to the 14th floor and walked to Maddy's door, both hesitating as they arrived before giving each other an unsure smile. They agreed to meet in the lobby the next morning – or, later that same morning, to be accurate – at 9.30 for breakfast, then Jonathan thanked her for inviting him, she thanked him for coming, and he turned to walk down the hall.

She said "good night" to his back and slid her keycard into the door, in internal turmoil about whether she wanted him to turn around or not. She didn't dare tell him that it was the best night she'd had in years.

He called "good night" over his shoulder and continued down the corridor towards his room, arguing with himself whether he should be as brave as he wanted to be. He didn't dare tell her that it was the best night he'd had in years.

By the time he finally turned around, she'd already disappeared.