Steffy Shocks Hope With Her Proposal — and Liam and Deacon Bond

At Forrester, Steffy explains to Hope that Eric and Carter left them alone to speak. Hope wonders if they know something she doesn’t and asks, “What’s really going on here?”

At Il Giardino, Liam asks Deacon why he wanted to see him. Deacon’s concerned about Hope what with Douglas living at Steffy’s. They agree Thomas’s idea to let the boy decide where to live was stupid. Liam says they regret going along with it. Deacon points out things could be worse — Douglas could be living with Thomas. Liam scoffs at the idea of Thomas being in charge of anything, let alone a human.

At the cliff house, Thomas wants to be around his son as much as possible, so is glad he’s welcome there again. Taylor assures him that he and his sister will be fine and credits him for going to therapy to work on himself. “Steffy is not your enemy, and you are not hers. The only enemy lurking around this family is Sheila Carter.”

At Bill’s place, Sheila notices he’s quiet today. He has a lot on his mind and apologizes. Sheila purrs that they had fun this morning and asks if he’s ready for another round. Bill has meetings but is glad she feels safe and free in this space. They kiss. “I’m all yours, Sheila,” Bill tells her, “And you’re all mine.”

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At Il Giardino, Liam assures Deacon that Hope feels his support and adds that she’s very excited that he’s getting the restaurant off the ground. Deacon’s just worried about her. Liam is too and laments that now, on top of Douglas, she’s worried about her line.

At the cliff house, Thomas goes over how stupid it was to make the CPS call. Taylor assures him that she and Steffy will never give up on him. She gets a text and tells Thomas that his sister wants to see them both a Forrester Creations.

At Forrester, Hope tries to assure Steffy that they’ll get her line back on track. Steffy reminds her that her grandfather and Zende specialize in couture and adds, “That needs to be their focus.” It’s been months and they can’t go on like this any longer. “I’m considering pausing your line.”

At Bill’s place, Sheila’s wondering what he’s thinking about and tells him he’s hard to read. Bill insists that “what you see is what you get” and tells her he’s given more of himself to her than to anyone else, including his ex-wives and his boys. Sheila will be forever grateful.

At Il Giardino, Liam and Deacon move to a table to discuss Hope’s struggling line. They can’t understand what the problem is, though Liam admits some turbulence had to be expected with the change in designers. He states that Thomas coming back is out of the question.

At Forrester, Hope makes a desperate pitch to Steffy to keep the line. Steffy reminds her it’s not personal and business. Hope argues it’s about more than the clothes, it’s the message. Steffy maintains that they’ll have to pump the brakes unless they figure out a solution. Hope asks, “Like what?” Steffy picks up her phone and tells reception to “let them in.” Taylor and Thomas enter and Steffy announces it’s time to decide what will happen to Hope For the Future.

At Bill’s place, he tells Sheila that Liam’s there. Sheila notes that he despises her. Liam comes in complaining about having to check in with the guard now. Sheila says, “Hello, Junior.” She announces she’s going to run some errands. Once alone, Liam tells his father that walking in and seeing Sheila Carter is never going to feel normal. Bill declares that he’s anti-normal. “I do my own thing, Liam. Always have.” Liam doesn’t even know who he’s looking at anymore. He protests that in this case his unpredictability is not a good thing. He wonders if any of his sons’ opinions matter at this point. Liam fumes, “Dad, you’re blackmailing Steffy now. We both know what she means to you… so why are you letting yourself be manipulated by a criminal.” Bill tells his son this might be a side of him he hasn’t seen before. He warns Liam not to start analyzing him when he brings up his childhood. Liam can’t just sit back and do nothing — he’s scared — for all of the. “There has to be some way to get Sheila Carter out of your life!”

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At Forrester, Steffy explains that Hope For the Future only excels under one condition. The problem isn’t Hope, but she needs a creative genius and doesn’t have that. “We need a designer who really knows what to do and cannot be duplicated.” She lays out the deal. If they want the line to succeed, the lead designer of her line needs to be Thomas. Hope turns to look at him and Taylor sighs happily.

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In his apartment, Deacon’s sitting and thinking about Sheila when she knocks on the door. He thought she said goodbye to him forever. Sheila muses, “Maybe I didn’t mean it.”

At Forrester, Steffy tells Thomas he’s hurt a lot of people. She recaps that he’s seeing a therapist and wants to change. “I think you’ve learned your lesson. You shouldn’t be punished anymore.” The truth is, they’re all paying the price without him there. Steffy declares that Thomas is no longer exiled and is welcome back to the company. It’s not up to her, but she recommends that Thomas be reinstated as Hope For the Future’s head designer. Taylor is thrilled and Thomas promises not to let any of them down. Hope is confused at the change in Steffy’s outlook. Taylor pipes up that she intervened. Steffy says Taylor forced them to get back together. She said she’d give him another chance and this is his opportunity, “If you agree to it, Hope.” She reminds her that Thomas is key to saving her line. “What do you say? Will you allow Thomas to return to Hope For the Future?”

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Next on The Bold and the Beautiful: Thomas asks for forgiveness, and Bill makes a confession to Liam about Sheila.

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