Credit:
All products and services featured are independently chosen by editors. However, Soaps.com may receive a commission on orders placed through its retail links, and the retailer may receive certain auditable data for accounting purposes.
We open with Thomas asking, yet again, if Hope will be his wife. Once again, she does the whole “You know how I feel about you, and you know how I feel about you… ” dance. But, he concludes, “you’re not ready to marry me.” He admits he knew she’d reject him yet again. “You’ll never be able to marry me, and that’s why I’ve moved on with Paris.”
Thomas tells Hope that he could gather the family and grab Carter to perform the ceremony, and her answer would still be “no.” And while that broke his heart before, he’s now in love with Paris. “My heart is whole,” he says. “You and I will always be there for each other. Douglas connects us forever. But I’ve moved on. I’ve found my person, with Paris. And you’ll find your person, too.” Thomas goes on to say he’s happy and knows she’ll find happiness, too. (Somehow, the show resists the urge to immediately cut to a scene featuring Finn.)
Outside, Paris is still reeling about the fact that Thomas asked Eric if they could get married at the mansion. Brooke asks when the wedding might be, and Paris says she’s not exactly sure, but hopes it’ll be soon. (Trust us, Paris, on this show? You’ll either get married next week or go directly to the backburner until you break up, ala Katie and Carter.) She can’t wait to be Thomas’ wife! Ridge says there’s a lot to celebrate, and the three of them discuss the elephant in the room: Hope and her lingering feelings for Paris’ guy. Speaking of which, Paris decides she should go and find her hubby-to-be.
Li swings by Finn’s office, surprised to see him. She thought he’d be hoe with the family, but he shares that he is on call and had to scrub in for an emergency. “If anyone can understand this insane schedule, it’s you,” he tells his mom. She does, but also knows that after everything that’s happened in recent months — read: Sheila! — he needs to spend as much time as possible with his wife and kids.
Li reminds Finn that while Sheila may be his — say it with us — biological mother, she’s also a menace to society in general and his family in particular. “Sheila doesn’t deserve your love and sympathy,” Li insists. “You need to prioritize your wife and kids. They must always come first.” Finn swears that he’s got his priorities in order, and that he’s cut Sheila out of his life “and I’m serious this time!” Li warns that if he’s not careful, Sheila will be the death of his marriage.
Li asks Finn if Hope is still close to “that father of hers.” She points out that Deacon “must have a screw loose” to be with Sheila. Li’s glad to hear that both Finn and Hope are keeping their respective bad seed parents at arm’s length. Li is, however, unhappy about the influence Hope seems to have on her son, pointing out his decision to stay at the Sheila/Deacon wedding. Finn reminds his mom he was only there to get food — because, you know, Il Giardino’s the only restaurant in Los Angeles — and he regrets having stayed. Li says staying was foolish, dangerous and disrespectful to Steffy. “Not only do you need to stay away from Sheila, you need to stay away from Hope!” Li says, adding that she’s only saying this out of love.
Alone together, Ridge and Brooke blow off the idea of going down to the pool with the others in favor of going home and skinny-dipping. Of course, they’re soon talking about Hope again and the fact that she refused to marry Thomas, and thus, the relationship has ended. Brooke declares Thomas’ relationship “a classic rebound” — heaven knows she would know a thing or two about that — but Ridge insists Thomas’ feelings for Paris are real.
As Brooke and Ridge continue discussing Thomas, she admits that Hope hasn’t necessarily been herself of late. “She’s been all over the place, and I’m just worried she might do something she might regret.” Brooke worries that Paris might not be aware of what she’s gotten herself into, but Ridge says Thomas has been completely transparent with the young woman. “At least Thomas didn’t come home with some floozy from Tacoma,” says Ridge, and both agree Paris is wonderful. Brooke has doubts, but Ridge is his usual, pigheaded self, refusing to think Thomas might be deluding himself. He says there’s a man out there somewhere for Hope…
Paris reunites with Thomas and tells him that she’s excited about getting married at the estate. Paris says everyone’s excited… except Hope, who is “playing the victim, and I really don’t get why.” Thomas says that for Hope, it’s hard, given that nobody expected him to come home with a new lady love and stepmom to Douglas. “She had her moment, and she turned you down,” says Paris, who is quickly assured by Paris that she’s the only one he cares about. He adds that Hope will no doubt find a wonderful man to spend the rest of her life with.
Which of course leads immediately to Hope hanging out at Forrester Creations and Finn walking in, looking for something Steffy forgot. He immediately senses that something is up with Hope. She doesn’t want to dump her problems on him, but “that’s what friends are for,” he reminds.
Finn reminds Hope that she didn’t want to marry Thomas, and she points out she was still dealing with her divorce and focus on the kids at the time. “I feel for you,” Finn acknowledges, “but I don’t think those are the only reasons.” He goes on to low-key trash-talk Thomas, saying he doesn’t blame her for not just forgetting everything he’d done in the past. She suggests Thomas has once again acted rashly without thinking about the consequences. She doesn’t want anyone to get hurt — including Douglas — and admits she also thinks Thomas is running from something. “His feelings for you?” asks Finn, leaving her to wonder if that sounds conceded. This prompts Finn to list all of Hope’s amazing qualities. “You know how I feel… Thomas was never good enough for you,” declares Finn, saying some incredibly lucky man is going to come along and steal her heart. As the music swells and Hope looks at the man standing before her, we fade to black…
