Page 45 of Deacon

The satellite dish on the ridge pinged as my laptop synced with Panoramik’s shared drive on its New York server.

I leaned over the makeshift folding table and uploaded the raw photo files from our shoot.

Dust coated my arms and keyboard, sticking to my skin in the Omo Valley midday heat.

Around me, the compound bustled.

Yael and Salim stood at the marquee table over a printed map of the local area, discussing logistics for the next day.

Baz was on his device, typing his story, his face scrunched in concentration as he stared at the screen.

A notification chime cut through the quiet roar of the camp generator.

My sister Lucia’s name popped up on my display with a WhatsApp link and a message underneath.

Lucia: He’s finally moved on from you? Tania Rivers is holidaying in Málaga, and look who she bumped into. Note: These are private; she’s only shared them with me and asked me to send them to you so you’re in the know.

My pulse skipped a beat.

I clicked the attachment, not sure what to expect.

I jolted as full-resolution photos of Deacon and some woman filled my screen.

They were in a bar, kissing.

My heart sank straight to the bottom of my stomach, a cold numbness spreading through my chest.

I peered closer at the next message from my sister.

Lucia: Vega and Nashami, a secret couple? Damn.

Another photo showed them leaning close in a velvet booth, their faces inches apart.

The supermodel’s face tilted up to him, gazing at him with awe, desire, and arousal.

Most women who met Deacon reacted that way.

He was walking sin; beautiful, bulked, ripped, handsome, and sculpted from head to toe.

The fact that it was Nashami was hard to swallow.

She and I graced the same catwalks back when I still modeled.

When I left the fashion industry to photograph news stories and portraiture for art house magazine spreads, Nashami climbed straight to the top of the couture world.

She landed Vogue covers and ruled international runways.

From memory, she also served as an editor-at-large at a couture magazine and founded the charity XTRA+, which raised millions for refugees in Africa.

No doubt, Nashami was stunning, with undeniable beauty, and the kind of presence that commanded any room she walked into.

I also respected her for her smarts and savvy business mind.

However, seeing Deacon with her shocked me, because his dating life had stayed off my radar since we broke up.

In fact, I hadn’t seen or heard of him with anyone else since we separated, even after four years.

While I didn’t feel a gut punch each time I thought of him anymore, the thought of him being intimate with her jarred me.