Steffy Catches Hope Passing Judgment on Ridge — and Thomas Gets a Call From Sheila

At the cliff house, Ridge watches Taylor wake up and hands her a cup of coffee. Taylor smiles; she thought she heard something. She loves being woken up by the grandbabies but this isn’t bad either. Talk turns to his conversation with Brooke. He admits it was unexpected; she’s setting him free. One terrible night and everything they had is gone.

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Downstairs, Steffy takes a call from Thomas, who wonders why Ridge isn’t at work yet. Steffy smiles; he’s still there with their mom. He wonders if they’ll stay together. Steffy muses, “With Brooke out of the picture, what would keep them apart?”

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At Il Giardino, Sheila watches Deacon mop. He pauses, recalling his kiss on New Year’s with Brooke, before noticing her. Sheila wonders if he was daydreaming about Brooke and has a feeling she’s going to come creeping back to him very soon. Deacon snarks about her being there and then invites, “Let’s hear it.” Sheila thinks his chances with Brooke are looking better, but he’s unconvinced. Sheila offers to up his confidence and rev his engine. Deacon wonders if he missed something — is Brooke no longer married to Ridge? He senses that Sheila feels Brooke deserves what’s happening to her. Sheila rants about Brooke injecting herself into everyone’s life and the exact opposite of Taylor. Deacon sneers that she should write the doctor a fan letter. Sheila goes on about how much getting back together with Ridge means to Taylor. Deacon snarks, “Because you guys are BFFs now?” If Taylor’s happy, Sheila’s happy. If her family is secure she might convince Steffy to give her a chance. Sheila urges Deacon to go to Brooke and comfort her. Deacon notes she manages to make doing something nice sound dirty. He warns her that no one should underestimate the connection between Brooke and Ridge.

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At Forrester Creations, Hope wants to talk to Thomas about her mom, who is saying upsetting things. She needs Ridge to understand that that night never would have happened if she wasn’t drinking. Thomas tells Hope it’s not a good idea to go over to the cliff house. Her parents aren’t together anymore and his dad is happy where he is. He’s going to support his mother and father in any way that he can. Hope recaps that her mom is confused. Thomas counters that his father isn’t. He still cares about Brooke, but he’s accepted that it’s over, so why push him to rethink it. Hope points out they’ve split up before and it’s always temporary. Thomas hopes that this time it’s different because his mom is home and she and his dad have a chance to make it work. He leaves for a meeting.

At the cliff house, Steffy suggestively tells Taylor and Ridge to take their time. Ridge and Taylor assure her their togetherness is not what she’s thinking — he’s still staying in the guest house. Steffy loves seeing them so happy and promises she’s not making any assumptions, even though they’re glowing. Taylor and Ridge flirt a little and Steffy can’t help but be excited. This is their chance to have lasting love after all the disappointment — it’s incredible the way it’s all working out.

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Ridge finds Hope in the office at Forrester Creations. She tells him her mother is really hurting and thinks that punishing herself by giving him up is going to fix all this. “You know that’s not true,” she adds. Hope pleads with Ridge to give her another chance. “Please don’t give up on my mom.” Ridge reminds her that Brooke let him go and set him free. Hope argues that what happened that night is not like her and points out that he’s reconnecting with Taylor while still married to her mom. “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” Steffy comes in and tells Hope not to try to judge her father for wanting to be happy — she’s making it sound like her dad is cheating on Brooke! Hope says they are still married. Steffy states that Brooke made a choice. She may regret it and probably hates herself for it, but she can’t take it back. Her father is remembering what it’s like to be with someone who he can rely on and trust. “Dad please don’t let her back in.” She appeals to Ridge to come home to his family, the Forresters, not Hope and not the Logans.

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At Il Giardino, Sheila laughs as she informs Deacon that Ridge has moved out and is living with Taylor. His and Brooke’s destiny has come to a screeching halt. Deacon feels bad about his involvement, but Sheila insists the marriage didn’t end because of him but because Ridge wants Taylor — that’s who he is. Deacon argues that one night doesn’t define Brooke’s character. He gets called away to do a task and leaves Sheila stewing. She pulls out her phone and calls Thomas who tells her, “Don’t call me.” Sheila wants him to say he won’t tell anyone that she made Brooke drink that night. If he wants to keep his parents together he needs to keep their secret, “Are we good?!”

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Next on The Bold and the Beautiful: Brooke realizes she must fight for Ridge, and Sheila grows frustrated with Thomas.

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