It’s a sunny new day on The Bold and the Beautiful. Taylor and Brooke have a less than civil chat while Steffy learns what her brother has been up to while she was away.
At the Malibu house, Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) reconnects with Ridge (Thorsten Kaye), who is so very happy to see her. Steffy says she’s not going to let Sheila get in the way anymore. But that’s over now. She wants to hear about the fashion challenge. She’s already heard that RJ and Eric won, but she misinterprets his expression and thinks he’s upset that he lost.
Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) is in Eric’s office, and she stops when she sees a photo of herself with Eric back when they were together. She’s interrupted when Taylor (Krista Allen) comes in.
Hope (Annika Noelle), sporting a new haircut, reads reviews of Eric’s line to Thomas (Matthew Atkinson). They marvel that Eric won. Thomas thought his father would win. Hope’s excited that RJ got to collaborate with Eric. But enough of that — Thomas wants to focus all of his attention on her, her new dress and her new haircut. But mostly her.
Brooke asks Taylor how she’s doing since she got back from Europe with Steffy and the kids. Taylor says it’s good for them all to be back home. She’s there to see her son, and she’s guessing he’s with Brooke’s daughter.
And speaking of Taylor’s son and Brooke’s daughter, they’re holding each other in the design office and he’s telling her that she should be “front and center” of the company. She’s more diplomatic, but he calls her “intoxicating” and notes that she always has an effect on him.
Steffy can’t understand how the fashion challenge came about. She’s upset she missed it, and she knows RJ will never let him live it down. Ridge reflects on finding out that he won but making the decision to change the results to give the victory to his father. Steffy admits she’s surprised that they won, and he promises to talk about some of those “surprises,” but for now he wants to focus on her. “What about Sheila?” he asks.
Taylor says there’s a rumor that their kids are spending lots of time together. Brooke says she’s trying to stay out of it, and when Taylor says it’s not Thomas’ fault, Brooke gets defensive. Brooke just can’t understand why her daughter picked him. Taylor, calm as ever, says her son didn’t pursue her. Brooke refers to how Thomas was obsessed with Hope, and Taylor remains quiet.
Hope and Thomas reflect on the fashion challenge. Thomas calls her “my queen” and admits he can’t stop wanting her.
In Malibu, Ridge asks if it’s safe to be back in LA with Sheila still out. Steffy is done being worried and she tells her father about going to see her. He’s proud as ever that Steffy punched Sheila, and he loves that she’s the “tough one.” She’s going to head to the office, and he makes her promise to be safe.
Speaking of the office, Thomas and Hope are getting down to business in the design office. He’s telling her how much he wants her as they share passionate kisses with each other.
Taylor takes a call from her office, telling them to tell her clients that she’s back. Brooke asks if she’s staying in LA, and for now that seems to be the case. She’s worried about her son and having more damage done to Thomas as Hope uses him. She doesn’t want to see her son get hurt. Ridge walks in and greets Taylor, then he goes to Brooke’s side after welcoming her back.
Things are getting heated in the design office (RIP to Thomas’ shirt) when Steffy walks in and finds her half-naked brother on top of Hope on the desk. “What are you doing?” she demands. “This is insane!” If looks could kill, the look Hope gives Steffy would have made Steffy explode.
Ridge thanks Taylor for keeping an eye on Steffy and the kids. He admits he’s worried about Sheila still being there, but Taylor says it’s for the best. Brooke says they were just talking about Hope and Thomas. Ridge says they’re grown and can make their own decisions. Ridge understands, and Taylor insists that she’s so proud of his progress and doesn’t want him to go backwards. He hopes they can trust their son to make the right decision. Taylor worries that Hope is sending him mixed signals and that could be dangerous.
Steffy demands that Thomas put his shirt back on. They apologize as Steffy says this is a place of business. Thomas gets a message to check on a delivery and he’s hesitant to leave them alone. He kisses Hope tenderly before leaving to drive home a point. Steffy already knew about them through her mom; she’s shocked to agree with Brooke on their relationship being a bad idea. Hope says that no one is going to stop them from being together.
Steffy is coming off a one-two punch after triumphantly returning to LA and giving Sheila a black eye. She’s feeling strong and confident. Despite being caught off guard walking in on Thomas and Hope, she claims she already knew about them being together but she can’t for the life of her understand it.
Hope, in the meantime, sees Steffy as “the other woman” whose influence led Liam to walk away from their marriage. Steffy didn’t do anything wrong, of course, because it’s Liam’s infatuation with her that’s the issue. Hope blames her for being the one her husband has always wanted.
Steffy, of course, knows what kind of influence Hope has on her brother and she’s worried that he’ll slip back into old habits because she’s leading him on. She’s trying to protect her brother, but he doesn’t think he needs protection — he’s got what he’s always wanted.
Though they’re practically related (with Hope’s mother dating Steffy’s father, and also Hope’s father engaged to Steffy’s nemesis and the mother of her husband), there’s no love between them and things are about to get very contentious. It won’t help that Thomas is feeling particularly protective of Hope, either. We’ll have to see who can win this battle of wills.
The Bold and the Beautiful airs weekdays on CBS and the following day on Paramount Plus. Check your local listings to see when it comes on where you are.
