It had been four days since Jonathan had arrived in Las Vegas and he'd quickly begun to think that advertising wasn't too bad a gig after all when compared to working for Adam. He was continually exasperated by the magician's inability to focus on the task at hand, and the "it'll be fine" attitude he maintained when discussing any tricky details.
Thankfully, Charlie more than made up for it and was helping to keep his sanity intact. Not only did she take the tiny particulars of the illusion as seriously as Jonathan did, she felt the same frustration as he did towards Adam and they were able to communicate their shared irritation to each other with eye rolls and sotto voce comments aplenty.
After a full day of touring the surrounds of Las Vegas, doing a recce around different locations in the mountains and valleys, they had finally decided on the best spot to base the illusion, and had spent the rest of their time working through the specifics of how it would play out.
On the surface it looked simple: an audience of media and famous faces would sit in seats on a platform, facing the legendary skyline of the city. Then the team would put panels in place covering up the vista so that the spectators would be amazed to see that the city had completely disappeared when the panels were removed a few minutes later. It was a deceptively simple trick and worked on the basis that of course the city wasn't being moved, the audience were. The platform was secretly sitting on a revolve which would turn them imperceptibly to face the other direction without them knowing, only to be faced with desert and mountains instead of the city they were expecting. Naturally, making it function properly wasn't quite as simple as it seemed, and it required a lot of planning. They'd need to undertake a big build then several trials before the real thing would take place in a couple of months.
The morning of day four had been made more bearable by the fact that Maddy was due to fly in that afternoon, and even the usually measured Jonathan wasn't able to suppress his anticipation at her arrival. It had been just over a week since their big talk and they'd parted with a promise to see each other once more before he had to fly back to England.
It had been Adam who'd suggested Jonathan invite Maddy to fly out for their last night in Vegas, delighted that his plan to put them back in touch seemed to be working out. He was indebted to Jonathan for agreeing to work with him on this illusion, and he was also keen to see Maddy again himself after such a long time, so he'd told Jonathan he'd fly her out, and the Encore would comp her a room from Adam's allocation. At first Jonathan hadn't been sure, thinking it would be better for just the two of them to spend time together, but he'd realised that it might be less pressure to be out with other people and they'd be less likely to descend into deep, difficult conversations when they weren't alone. He was determined for them to have fun and enjoy their time together for the next 24 hours.
Maddy had been excited when he'd asked her, having never been to Vegas before, and she'd arranged for Sophie to stay at a friend's place while she'd be away after checking in that her daughter really didn't mind her leaving for another night. Sophie was delighted she'd get to have a sleepover; her only concern being that she wouldn't get to see Jonathan again because she now considered him her friend too, which Maddy thought was rather sweet and bode well for the future.
At 2pm Jonathan made his excuses and headed to McCarran airport to meet Maddy off her flight. They'd spoken every day since he'd left D.C. and continued to uphold their promise to make a go of things, but even still, a week's distance had made him nervous to see her again in person.
He'd taken the car which the Encore had allocated for Adam and, with the driver stopped in the pick-up area, he headed towards the Arrivals doors and stopped just shy of the barriers, leaning against a pillar to wait. He wasn't sure what to do when she did arrive, and contemplated whether he should kiss her, which he wanted to do, or whether a hug would be the 'correct' thing given their not-quite-a-relationship-yet status. He questioned how he could still feel like an unsure 20-year-old when it came to women, then wondered if it was just because of who this particular woman was.
It wasn't long before he spotted her coming down the elevators into the baggage hall. He couldn't help the smile from forming on his lips and he watched affectionately as she searched out the signs for which exit to take. She'd brought only a cabin bag so she didn't need to wait for her luggage to arrive. The domestic terminal at McCarran didn't make it easy, with different exits for different things: taxis, private cars, meeting people, and all while those on the outside could see in. She eventually found the right way to go and headed in his direction. As she noticed him through the glass she broke into a smile, and Jonathan's nerves were somehow both allayed and heightened at the same time.
As she came to a stop in front of him, she let go of her suitcase to loop her arms around his waist. "Hi," she said, looking up at him, still smiling, equally as nervous and excited.
"Hi," he replied, taking the invitation for closeness by wrapping his arms around her too.
Then they both paused, unsure about their next move but unwilling to separate.
"This is so weird." Maddy shook her head a little and they both laughed, removing the tension between them. She looked back into his eyes and made a decision. "If we think about things too much, we won't get anywhere, will we?" she said, then reached up on her tiptoes to kiss him. He gratefully responded, pulling her closer as he smiled into her kiss, mentally kicking himself for overthinking as usual.
"Not just a pretty face, are you?" he said as they parted.
She smiled up at him, flustered by the kiss and the compliment combined, and tried to get back onto an even keel. "So come on, what's the plan?"
As they walked to the car, Jonathan told her that they were going to meet Adam and Charlie for drinks at 7pm, then dinner was booked for 8.30pm. He didn't know where they were going, but Adam had said they should get properly dressed up.
"Adam hasn't changed then. Fit for a king, as usual," said Maddy. "What about before that?"
Jonathan shrugged. "I thought we could take a walk down The Strip? I haven't had a chance to see any of the sights yet. It'd be a shame not to, while we're here."
"As long as that also includes a stop for some food along the way, I'm in. I wasn't prepared to shell out a small fortune for a miniscule 'guess the meat' adventure on the plane."
"I thought you'd eat anything," he laughed. "Shame we're not here for longer. They have this thing called the Buffet of Buffets. You buy a pass for about sixty dollars and it gives you access to five different hotels' buffets for 24 hours. If you start with late dinner one night, you can go right through to the following night's dinner. Apparently it's incredible. Every cuisine imaginable."
Maddy's eyes grew wide. "Let's see how hungry we still are after dinner tonight," she said, only half-joking.
"Let's see how drunk we are after dinner tonight," replied Jonathan. "You know what Adam's like."
"True," she smiled, and followed him into the back of the car, saying hello to the driver before they sped off.
Jonathan had picked up Maddy's keycard before he'd left, so on arrival at the hotel they headed through the casino floor then straight up in the elevators to find her room. Adam had outdone himself. It was a huge suite with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the whole Strip, and they stood together marvelling at the view. In truth, they'd each have been happy to be facing a brick wall if it meant they could stand next to each other, arms touching, nerves dancing, but the vista was a good excuse for now.
Maddy sorted out her bag and hung up her dress for later then they made their way back downstairs and headed out to the maelstrom of The Strip, surrounded by other tourists and the locals trying to sell their wares. They were either dressed in character costumes for photo opportunities, or strumming piles of business cards with call girls' details on them against their other hand, creating a strange zipping noise. Jonathan only made the mistake of accepting a card once, causing Maddy to laugh with glee at his shocked response on realising what it was.
The pair made their way slowly along the Strip, moving in and out of each casino and using the overbridges to cross where it was demanded of them. They stopped at a bistro in the Venetian for some food, sitting alongside one of the canals and watching the gondolas come and go, amazed at the detail of the building surrounding them.
Maddy's favourite was the Bellagio fountains and she hoped they'd be able to see them again after nightfall, when they'd surely be even more spectacular with the light show.
They made it as far as New York, New York, watching crazy people screaming their heads off on the rollercoaster before realising it was already almost 6pm and they'd never make it back in time to get ready if they walked all the way again. Luckily cabs were plentiful, and they jumped in one to take a quick ride back to the hotel.
They met back in the lobby at 7pm. Once again, Jonathan was bowled over by how Maddy looked, this time in an amber-coloured, long-sleeved silk dress and cherry-dark lips. He remembered her words from earlier about not overthinking things, so he leant in to give her a kiss on the cheek and whispered into her ear, "You look beautiful."
A blush rose up from Maddy's chest to her face, and her brain turned to mush. It was all she could do to take hold of his arm and start walking with him in the direction of the bar, wanting instead to kiss him senseless in the middle of the casino floor.
"Here they come!" said Adam jovially as he spotted them, delighted to see Maddy again.
"I thought he'd split up from his wife?" asked Charlie under her breath, perplexed, assuming the woman beside Jonathan must be his spouse given how comfortable they looked with each other.
"He did," replied Adam, equally as puzzled by Charlie's question.
Charlie looked confused as she watched the couple approaching them, and then a light went on in her brain, and her jaw dropped. "Madeline…" she said to herself. "You're Maddy Magellan!" she said loudly to a bemused Maddy as they arrived in front of her and Adam.
"I am," said Maddy with a bewildered smile.
"But…" she looked over to Jonathan and punched him in the arm as she hissed at him, "JC! Why didn't you say it was Maddy Magellan who was coming?"
He rubbed his arm. "I thought I did."
"Adam said that Madeline was coming. I didn't put two and two together. Oh. My. God. I am the hugest fan of your books."
"Well, that's a good start. I think I'm going to like you. It was usually Jonathan who had all the girls in love with him," said Maddy with a grin, glancing over at him to see a pained eye roll as he remembered those days of promoting her books. "I'm assuming you must be Charlie?"
"Yes. I am. Aye. Oh, man. It's so good to meet you." Charlie continued shaking her head in disbelief, muttering 'oh my god' to herself again as Maddy turned to Adam and was engulfed in a hug.
"Madeline! You're a sight for sore eyes," said the magician as he held her tightly. "It's been far too long."
"I'm surprised to be saying this to you, Adam, but you're right, it has," she agreed, happy to see him too.
On pulling away from the hug, Adam led Maddy over to the bar to sort out drinks for them all, taking the opportunity for a quick aside. "I don't know how you've done it but it's a relief to have him back."
Maddy was touched to see that Adam really meant what he said, and she looked fondly over at Jonathan as she spoke. "I definitely can't take all the credit, but I know what you mean. He's still a little broken though, isn't he?"
"He was," Adam said. "But he's much more back to his usual self now. You've worked your magic."
"I thought you were supposed to be the magician?" she replied lightly. "Anyway, he's getting there, I think. And I owe you a very large drink for putting us back in touch."
Adam crudely raised his eyebrows at her, insinuation ripe in his gaze, not yet being fully aware of the burgeoning relationship situation he'd helped to create.
She didn't help him out by explaining anything, just smirked back at him and raised her glass in a 'cheers' motion.
Adam hadn't held back and had booked them a table at one of the top restaurants in town, Joel Robuchon's Atelier. It was inside the MGM Grand so, in a cheery state after a couple of cocktails each, their driver took them back down The Strip in the opposite direction from which Maddy and Jonathan had come only a couple of hours before.
It was the fanciest restaurant Maddy had ever been to, having been awarded three Michelin stars a few years previously but, much as she was impressed, she was glad they'd stopped for some food a few hours before, otherwise she was worried the portions would be too tiny to fill them up. She needn't have fretted though; as they made their way through the degustation, plate after plate was brought out to sate their appetites.
Over drinks, Charlie had already accosted Maddy with a multitude of questions about the mysteries in her books and she continued to do so at dinner. Although he wouldn't admit it, Maddy could see that Jonathan was a little put out that Charlie didn't direct any questions about their cases to him, which she delightedly exploited for a while, but finally decided to change the subject.
"So come on," she said to Charlie. "Enough about our grisly tales, what about you? Where's that accent from? Adam's home town?"
Charlie was once again on the back foot, evidently having no idea Adam's American accent wasn't real. "What do you mean? I'm from Glasgow."
"Ah. Wrong coast of Scotland then, isn't it Adam?" cajoled Maddy as she saw him prepare his denial, and saw Jonathan try to stifle a laugh beside her.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Adam countered, looking loftily at her with a glint in his eye.
She decided to let it go, simply smirking at him before she turned back to Charlie. "I went out with a guy from Glasgow once. He was gorgeous but I couldn't understand a word he said. There are only so many times you can ask someone to repeat themselves before it gets awkward."
"Pardon?" asked Jonathan cheekily, raising a laugh around the table.
The wine match which came with each course was proving Jonathan's theory about the drunken state of the evening and they progressed into noisier and more riotous chat as each course was served. Adam fondly watched the Maddy-Jonathan double act in action as they each showed off their caustic wit and gave as good as they got, obviously relishing each other's company. He hoped against all hopes that this time the pair of them would make it work.