The ghosts of relationships past, present, and future
For the Week of February 19, 2018
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B&B Two Scoops: The ghosts of relationships past, present, and future
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The ghost of Liam and Hope's past relationship manifested in the present, but a Valentine's Day sonogram might have just cemented Liam's future with Steffy. Thorne aimed to turn Wyatt and Katie's relationship into a ghost of the past, but is a deleted text enough to kill Watie?

During Valentine's week, we learned that Steffy is afraid of ghosts -- relationship ghosts, that is. Hope assured Steffy that if she does everything perfectly right from here on out, she has nothing to fear from Hope. Brooke tried to convince Ridge that Stephanie's ghost was in their present. Ridge didn't believe it, and he doesn't believe that Hope is no threat to Steffy's future, either.

When Wyatt saw the man of Katie's secret relationship present kiss her, Wyatt promptly made his own secret relationship with her a thing of the past. Having second thoughts, Wyatt text-messaged Katie. Thorne decided that the best way to get Katie to swipe "right" on him was for him to swipe "left" on Wyatt's reunion text message. If we know Wyatt, Katie's past relationship with him won't be that easy to delete. Was it love between Katie and Wyatt, or will she dive into a new "tinder" fling with Thorne?

Over in the broken Spencer nest, Bill must have bribed Satan to freeze over hell, because it's the only thing that explains why Steffy trusted Hope to deliver a Valentine's Day gift to Liam. It could also explain why Dr. Phillips just happened to have a sonogram opening on Valentine's Day that Phillips just happened to realize that she should offer to Steffy.

Little does Steffy know, the box of conversation hearts she sent off with Hope sparked old feelings between Hope and Liam. Can a sonogram of Liam and Steffy's baby melt the ice caps in Liam's heart, or will Liam seek a friends-with-paninis-benefits relationship with Hope?

Let's get two scoops deep into whether the ghosts of relationships past will present problems for our favorite couples' futures this week on B&B.

Sending you forget me nots

One major ghost of relationships past to haunt a couple recently was that of Stephanie Douglas Forrester. It was a good haunt -- as good as one can be from Queeny, who created an ethereal moment alone with Brooke to bless the Bridge union. Afterwards, Brooke and Ridge spent their wedding night making love and debating whether the ghost of Stephanie was present in their bedroom with them.

I've never been married, so brides, tell me: does sheet-withering sex with your groom leave you sensing your mother-in-law's presence in the room? Brooke swore Stephanie was there, but the thought of Stephanie meandering around their bedroom is about as sexy as bedbugs, if you ask me. What was Stephanie doing during the sex? Was she watching and wondering, "Is this what Eric cheated on me for? This is what all the Brooke's Bedroom excitement was supposed to be all about?"

Stephanie blessing the Bridge marriage from the grave is a sweet sentiment, but Brooke doesn't know what she's asking for by inviting Stephanie's spirit to hover around all the time. What if Brooke makes Stephanie mad and Brooke wakes up with a charger cord around her neck or a butcher knife stuck in her headboard? If Brooke starts to get feelings for another man, she can look forward to coming home and seeing "You SLUT!" written in lipstick on her mirrors.

If I was Brooke, who's already had contact with Stephanie's spirit, I wouldn't want Stephanie's brooch around me, either. Brooke might look down, and the Stephanie-possessed brooch might smack the crap out of her because her blouse's neckline is too low. Stephanie might figure out how to possess Brooke so Stephanie can smack Quinn, knee Eric in the balls, or chase Liam around the hotel room until he acts right with Steffy.

Ridge thought he was being funny with the knocking prank, but it won't be so funny if, while having sex with Brooke, he looks into her eyes, and with a chilling voice, asks, "Mother? Is it you?"

Let us know what you think. Were you creeped out by the naked Brooke and Ridge saying that Stephanie was in the sex-steamed bedroom? Or is conjuring up your mother-in-law's spirit after sex merely a healthy way to keep the family close? I'm sure that if Stephanie was in the house, she'd share R.J.'s sentiments about walking in on Bridge. Gross.

She loves me, she loves me not

It looks like the pizza man might have made his last delivery to the condo on the hill, folks. It breaks my heart to report that the pizza man has a career and a family to think about. He can't be just slinging free pizza over in Katie's oven. What if his father found out? What kind of life would that be for his little brother? Who wants to put his sausage on the same pizza as another guy, anyway, right?

Call it karma, but Katie, the snoop extraordinaire, got snooped twice this week -- once by Maya, who spied Thorne kissing Katie on the balcony, and again by Wyatt, who peered through Katie's telescope and saw his love with another man's tongue and arms wrapped around her like they were merging into a two-headed octopus or something equally revolting.

Yes, revolting. It's no secret that I am #teamwyatt in this storyline. And for someone who told Quinn to stop spreading around gossip, Maya sure does find herself right up in the mix. She couldn't wait to tease Thorne about it, and fresh from a Valentine's Day steam with Rick, she found an excuse to drop off papers to Katie to steam some of the salacious tea out of her, too.

Maya isn't the only one looking for lame excuses to drop by Katie's on Valentine's Day. Thorne had already been there that morning with the excuse of carpooling to work. So what about Eric and Quinn, who happen to live with Thorne? Did Thorne charter a special short bus to take everyone to Forrester? I doubt it. He probably didn't even leave any coffee in the kitchen for Quinn and Eric, but he did manage to leave Katie's house with her phone instead of with her.

In case you missed it, the Bridge wedding magic wound up working on a couple, after all, and Thorne kissed Katie. Katie floated home with Thorne on her breath and was delighted to have a sexy surprise waiting in her living room. She was ready for a hot delivery from Wyatt, but she was puzzled when Wyatt responded to her kiss as if he were sniffing spoiled anchovies.

Wyatt has a right to feel the way he does, whether Katie is his girlfriend or not. Even if you are in a strings-free relationship, everyone knows that the one-at-a-time rule still applies. You are free to leave the relationship at any time, but you are not free to have sex with or to smear your mouth all over more than one partner at a time.

And by one at a time, I don't mean form a line and then get back in it if you want seconds. I mean, one in a given time period. If you insist upon double or triple dipping, everyone in line needs to be aware that they are all slipping and riding down the same slide. Anyone who questions it probably needs to read a pamphlet about how VDs spread. Wyatt had every right not to want any VDs from Thorne on V-Day (if Wyatt even recognized Thorne as the kisser).

I tried to like Katie. I did. I'm not saying that I'm going back to full-fledged abhorrence, but Katie isn't making it easy. She wants to pout because Wyatt left her, but she's the one who invited Thorne to move in with her a few weeks back. She guesses she was in deeper with Wyatt than she thought, but isn't she the one who keeps answering the door to Thorne in her undies?

Katie is definitely the one who told Wyatt not to go to the wedding -- a family wedding that he could have been at with no problems -- just so she could flirt around with Thorne.

And in her supposed breakup sadness, she still entertained starting up a new sexcapade with Thorne, not even twelve hours after being dumped. "Hee, hee, Thorne. Why would you want to kiss me again with all the models who fawn over you. Hee, hee, Thorne, you're so good for my ego. I'm tempted, but not right now," Katie said.

How bad can Katie feel about Wyatt if she lets Thorne give her a morning massage? Katie is even more confusing than Steffy is about the reason for her indiscretion with Bill. It's easy, ladies. You either love the guy, or you don't. You either still melt for other men, or you respect the man you're with too much to do it. You don't have to be committed to feel those ways. It's feeling those ways that make you realize you are committed.

When I was younger, I didn't know that I was in love with a boyfriend until I visited my ex during Christmas break, and he tried to impress me by walking around in a towel. I was like, "No. Barf. I need to go find Mr. Right. Later." Katie should have felt the same the moment Thorne moved his mouth toward her.

So, no, Katie. Not a damn is given for your hurt feelings. You spent your whole life claiming to want a man who hasn't been with Brooke and doesn't want Brooke. You get him, and what do you do? Screw it up to flirt with a man who declared that he came back to town for Brooke! You deserve what you get, Katie. You deserve what you freaking get for that.

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As for Katie's phone, Thorne accidentally took it when he left her house the morning after Wyatt broke up with her. Miraculously, no one called, texted, or emailed these executives, or vice versa, between morning and whenever Thorne started working out with Rick at the sky lounge. The first message arrived on Katie's phone from Wyatt, who was regretting the hasty breakup. Thorne promptly deleted the message and took the phone back to Katie.

I just want to know how obvious and how desperate Thorne can get. He returned to Los Angeles all, "Me Thorne. Me smash Ridge. Me take Brooke!" Next thing you know, Thorne is with Katie, saying, "Maybe I really came back for you." I have a song for people who act like that. It's Diana Ross's "Do You Know?"

Ross asks important rhetorical questions in that song: "Do you know where you're going to? Do you like the things that life is showing you? Where are you going to? Do you know?"

I can tell you right now; Thorne does not know. He doesn't have a clue where he's going or why he even came to where he is right now. I could have sworn that he told his father that he'd taken stock of his life. He'd figured out who was always there for him, and he'd decided that it was Brooke. What happened to that? What happened to Thorne returning to become a designer and work with his father? What happened to teaching Ridge he can't walk all over people?

Thorne went from being a focused and determined man to being a horny, lonely relationship poacher. I thought he was sincerely still mourning for Darla and Aly, but now I think he uses their deaths to get pity from women so he can get them into bed.

And it's clear that all Thorne wants from Katie is sex. Thorne just wants to get in on the "no-strings" action. He tells her that doesn't mind being a rebound. When she considers a relationship with him, he asks why she has to label it. He reminds me of those college frat guys, running in behind you on campus like, "Can I hit it? Can I hit it? Let me hit it. Let me hit it."

Maybe I'm being too hard on Thorne, but I doubt it. I know I'm not. I saw college frat guys do that to girls. They went from one sorority sister to the other, and that's what Thorne did. He went right from Brooke to Katie, and he probably would have tried Donna that night if Katie hadn't let him kiss her on the balcony. How does a man tell a sister that he will convince her not to get married and then, after being best man at her wedding, he goes after her sister?

Let us know what you think. Is Thorne a horny toad in sheep's clothing, or should Katie let him be the next man in line for a strings-free ride? Katie has a child and is too old for this revolving door type of mess. Or am I wrong? Should Katie concentrate on fun wherever she finds it instead of a lasting romance? Can she have even have a lasting romance with Wyatt? At this point, I have to wonder if she is even mature enough for Wyatt.

Be my Valentine Bestie

While Thorne urges Katie to skip the relationship mourning and go straight to bed with him, Hope used Valentine's Day to urge the supposed love of her life to give his cheating wife a second chance for the sake of their unborn baby. I used the word "supposed" because, after Thorne's flip-flop between sisters, I suspect Hope might flip from one brother to the other.

My soap tarot cards are saying that while Thorne and Katie have a thing, Wyatt and Hope might revisit Hott. As for Steam, I drew the sonogram card, and you know what that means: cement baby reunion. From my stack of tarot cards, I did happen to draw this dark stallion card. I just don't know where it fits in.

Hope keeps saying that she'll respect Liam's marriage as long as Steffy remains faithful and true to Liam. Could Steffy possibly breach Liam's trust again with his father in some way? Steffy swears that she does not want Bill. I can't imagine a scenario in which Liam catches her in a situation with Bill. Maybe Liam could misread a moment between the two, similar to when Katie misread the conversation between Bill and Brooke and fell into a barrel of alcoholism.

Liam was under tremendous pressure to reunite with Steffy this week. He managed to avoid the wedding, but Ridge was up at dawn the next morning and at Liam's door to press the resistance right out of his son-in-law. Ridge just doesn't get that Steffy is not a victim, and therefore, Ridge cannot understand why Liam will not just get over it and reunite with Steffy for the baby's sake.

Where does Ridge find the time between sex sessions with Brooke to hound Liam? Ridge kept his meeting with his ex-son-in-law-to-be quick in order to return home for his morning Valentine's Day quickie with Brooke. Meanwhile, Brooke was with Hope, ruminating on Hope's feelings for Liam. Hope must have told Brooke, Ridge, and Steffy a dozen times each that day that Hope would support Liam's marriage for the baby's sake, but they still keep giving Hope the weary, "Okay...Are you sure because Liam is the love of your life and all."

Steffy, who sported a Fizzgig fro for Valentine's Day, took her chances and trusted Hope to steer Liam back to the marriage. Steffy handed Hope a box of conversation candy hearts to give Liam for the holiday. Liam was wrong to share a Valentine's Day gift from his wife with his wife's past competition, especially if Hope might be Steffy's present competition. Liam pulled a "Be Mine" heart from the pile of candy, and the one Hope chose said, "Love you."

Maybe my soap tarot cards about a Steam reunion are wrong, and the truth is written on the candy hearts. Or maybe after all the triangles Liam has been in, he still hasn't learned his lesson about thinking he can have close female friends while he is married or otherwise committed. Some men can -- the marry-every-woman-I-date Liam is not one of them.

Liam is glad to have a person to lean on in Hope. She is a person whose advice he respects and would take. Hope feels the same way. She told Liam that she'd tried to replace him, but there is no other Liam. Hope even suggested that they write a book about how to remain friends with an ex. And then things took a turn for the weird.

Hope revealed that Steffy asked what Hope's intentions were with Liam. "I mean, part of me would like to pick up again where we once were, but that's not going to happen. It's impossible now," Hope told him. Liam asked, "Because of the baby?" She replied that the baby was one of a million reasons. In response, Liam uttered, "Yeah...yeah..."

This is classic, line-blurring Liam. He lets these women who are supposedly just his friends say this type of stuff to him, and he entertains it. He should have told Hope that she was right. They could not pick up where they left off. Way too much has happened over the years, and neither one of them should want to be back at that point in time anyway.

Liam is growing another "Adam" beard, but he can't have forgotten that he and Hope can't pick up where they left off because, for one, they left off with Hope fleeing town and her marriage after a miscarriage. For another, Liam is still married, and Hope needs to tie up the strings she left ripped and dangling from Wyatt's heart.

If we look at it more simplistically, maybe these two are picking up exactly where they left off -- with a marriage and baby by someone else wedged right between them. This is actually the third baby to potentially stand in the way of a Lope reunion, and on cue, it wedged itself into Liam and Hope's tender candy moment when Steffy called to invite Liam to an impromptu Valentine's Day sonogram.

With a little persuasion from Hope, Liam attended the sonogram. He tried to maintain an invisible wall between himself and Steffy, but he seemed to feel as if he was missing out when he learned that Steffy had felt the baby move already. Steffy grasped his hand when their child appeared on the monitor, and they were awestruck to learn that they would have a daughter.

Before Steffy had called Liam about the sonogram, Hope had pitched to Liam the idea of him helping her revamp HFTF. She asked him because she wanted to keep HFTF focused on charitable works, and he had experience in that area. After the sonogram, Steffy made another impassioned plea for Liam to let her know before the baby is born if he can live in the same house with her. Will Liam return home for his daughter's sake but use HFTF to escape his marriage? Or are Steffy and Stephanie the Third better off if the cold Liam stays where he is?

It bears repeating that Liam is under a lot of pressure to return home, and a baby is a good enough reason to. I am not sure Liam will be doing that child any favors if he exudes bad energy around Steffy. She's already doing enough damage to the baby by sobbing all the time. If Liam is in the house, Steffy will be depressed, and she'll feel his rejection. If Liam stays out of the house, Steffy will be depressed and perpetually sobbing. It's really a losing situation unless Liam can get beyond the Mount Everest-sized disgust he feels about Steffy sleeping with his father.

In a look ahead

Here are some spoilers on what happens next. Read our The Bold and the Beautiful spoilers in detail here.

If you were missing that sexy Bill Spencer, don't worry. He'll be back and on everyone's crap list. Look for Wyatt and Bill to have a falling-out, and our favorite redhead shows back up with a plan to get Bill to do right by Spectra Fashions. Sally's mad and wearing protective goggles, which can't be good for Bill.

Quinn might not be able to hide her giddiness about the Watie breakup, but will her smile get turned upside down by a reunion between Katie and Wyatt?

Hope gets a new business partner. If it's Liam, I wonder how Sally will feel to learn that Liam abandoned helping her with Spectra but will assist Hope with HFTF. Too bad for Sally that she couldn't figure out that the way to Liam's heart is tofuand philanthropy.

Steffy will continue to lean on her father, and Ridge's wrongheaded beliefs about Bill and Steffy continue to cause problems.

The 2018 Daytime Emmy pre-nominations will advance on February 22. Click here for a review of the B&B talent under consideration at this point.

Until we scoop again, here is some romance advice to live by. If you're in a strings-free relationship, understand that broadcasting it to other men is like throwing chum in the water. Do not send your husband's ex to him to plead your case for you unless you're secretly trying to reunite your husband with his ex. Whatever you do, do not invite your deceased mother-in-law into your bedroom, because she might stay even if he winds up leaving.

Above all, know that loving each other, valuing each other, and listening to each will make your relationship's future bold and beautiful, baby!



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