#CHAPTER 187: The Return

Sarah POV “She’s back,” Grace told me. Frowning, I turned away from my desk and the paperwork on it to see Grace standing in the doorway of my office. Behind me now, a breeze blew in the open French doors, and I smelled jasmine. It was jarring to see with this the frown on my little girl’s face. “Who’s back, honey?” I asked, pushing away from the desk and opening my arms for a hug. She ran over and got into my lap in a routine we’d long since mastered, and I held her close. “Who is back?” I asked very gently. “Ella. She’s having coffee with Daddy.” “Oh.” Goddess, I hadn’t even thought of her lately, my ex-employer and Zane’s sister-in-law. She’d been in Paris, hadn’t she? Wearing haute couture and getting her photo taken over and over. “I suppose I should go down and greet her,” I said. “Do I have to go?” The worried note in Grace’s voice shook me. I had long suspected Ella had been purposefully eroding Grace’s self-esteem, but I had thought perhaps it was some misg