Just when it seemed like things were heading toward a double reconciliation on The Bold and the Beautiful, it looks like Hope and Liam’s marriage might hit a speed bump.
We pick up when Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) wants to know whether Liam (Scott Clifton) believes that Hope (Annika Noelle) heard him. He thinks so. He thinks Hope heard his message about who Thomas (Matthew Atkinson) really is.
Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) is pressing Hope, too, telling her that she needs to let Thomas go so she can focus on her marriage.
Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) asks Thomas for answers about what’s going on with Hope. Thomas says he’s been working on the fashion line, but Ridge isn’t buying it. He tells his son he knows about what Brooke found when she went to his house, and they’re not happy about it. Thomas says he wasn’t trying to hide anything, but he’s interrupted when RJ (Joshua Hoffman) comes in. Ridge says they’re talking about Thomas’ relationship with Hope, which stops RJ in his tracks.
Steffy reminds Liam that Hope was the one who kissed Hope in Rome, and he knows that. She’s wondering how that makes him think about his marriage.
Hope is still caught up on being the only person in Thomas’ life, whereas Liam still has feelings for Steffy. Brooke wonders if her behavior comes from being with Thomas, and that she’s using Liam’s feelings for Steffy to excuse her own actions when it comes to sleeping with Thomas.
RJ admits that he’s worried about Hope after seeing how great their family is when they’re together. Thomas says Hope should be happy on Beth’s birthday. RJ knows about the kiss, but seeing Hope and Liam together makes him believe that they belong together.
Steffy asks Liam whether he really believes that Hope heard him. She reminds him that they signed divorce papers, and they left each other. But now he wants Hope back. This gives him pause.
Brooke knows her daughter feels bad about what she’s done, both in Rome and since Rome. They’re such a great family. Hope tells Brooke the divorce papers haven’t been signed and Brooke sees this as great news. Hope breaks down and says that seeing her daughter at the party was amazing. She’s torn because she believes that Thomas really loves her and she’s also aware that she could be using the same excuses to justify her behavior. “Thomas is wrong,” Brooke says. Hope thinks she might have changed, too. She’s been looking for a distraction and she’s caught up in it. Brooke reminds Hope that no one knows about her and Thomas sleeping together except for her and Ridge, but Hope knows that may not be the actual case.
Thomas respects that his family is looking out for him. Ridge agrees. “We’re stronger together.” He says he wants Hope to be happy, referencing his conversation with Steffy. As he leaves, RJ shares a look with his father.
“It’s never too late, honey, and the Logans never give up,” Brooke tells her daughter. She knows Hope and Liam love each other. The papers aren’t filed, so it’s not too late. “It’s never too late.” Hope agrees, grabbing her purse and leaving the cabin.
Liam thinks he’s had a breakthrough with Hope, but Steffy doesn’t think Liam is listening to himself. Will he forgive Hope for what happened, and do what it takes to keep his family and marriage intact?
Thomas is busy lighting candles when Hope arrives. He ushers her inside, telling her he wasn’t sure he was going to see her. He wishes he would have been able to be at Beth’s party but didn’t think he should be in the middle of it with Liam there. He tells her he missed her, and she gives him a look.
RJ brought Ridge a cupcake. Ridge is grateful. RJ tells his father that he thinks Hope and Liam need to fight for their marriage as Brooke walks in and agrees with her son.
Liam tells Steffy that he wants Hope to find her way back to being her old self. He brings up how she’s the mother of his child and they are connected and he cares about her because of their daughter, which are many of the reasons he wanted to be with Steffy.
As Thomas questions Hope, Hope has a flashback to the party and when Beth said she was happy having her mom and dad there. She hears Liam’s voice in her head, asking her to explain how she can be with the man who tried to keep her from her daughter. Thomas asks what happened at the party, and Hope tells him it reminds her of their past and the “hurtful things” they’ve been through.
Thomas tells her he’s way past that, and the nights they’ve shared since Rome have been wonderful. He wants to have a life with Hope, but she’s struggling because she liked being a little family with Beth and Liam. Liam reminded her of the pain they went through when they thought they’d lost Beth and how it was Thomas that kept her daughter from them. He apologizes for the past, pointing out that he’s a different person. “Did Liam get in your head or something?” Thomas asks. She says that everything Liam said was true. “I guess there’s only one thing I can do,” he says.
We’ve talked before about Thomas making the great sacrifice and pushing Hope away so that she can repair her marriage, and clearly that’s coming. Not only is it the mature thing to do, but it’s a good sign that Thomas really has changed his ways.
Liam seems prepared to take Hope back, but there’s one thing that he doesn’t know: Hope slept with Thomas. And let’s be real, she didn’t just sleep with him. They were together in bed for days. (At least, that’s how it felt for viewers)
At first, Liam was furious that Hope kissed Thomas. He was upset that she initiated the kiss. He was upset that she was with Thomas after all he did to her.
But he doesn’t know they slept together. (And we’ll just add right here that things could get really rough if she ends up pregnant with Thomas’ child…)
Brooke found Hope in bed with Thomas, and even though Hope told her mother not to say anything to anyone, Brooke told Ridge. That means other people could know about the secret too.
Thomas says he’s a changed man, but is he willing to let Hope go forever? What if Thomas tells Liam that he slept with Hope? What if Ridge somehow lets the secret out?
If Liam ever finds out about Hope and Thomas sleeping together, it’s over. There’s no way he’ll be able to forgive that, and deep down it seems like Hope knows that. She’s harboring a dangerous secret and it could destroy everything.
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.
