Thursday, July 06, 2006, Episode #4845

Stephanie and Massimo celebrate their victory.

Nick sees the Brooke's Bedroom ad with a semi-nude Brooke and angrily asks, "Is that you?!" Brooke says it is, but she doesn't know how this happened. Bridget tells Rick to do something, but he points out that even if he tore the ad down right now, Nick has already seen it. Brooke tries to explain to Nick that she took that photo for the lingerie line's ad campaign, but she decided not to use it. Someone used it, Nick exclaims. Brooke guesses it was Stephanie, since Stephanie and Ridge insisted on using... Hearing Ridge's name, Nick storms off; Brooke follows close behind. Stephanie and Massimo watch from Massimo's limo. Mass says that the plan worked, just as Stephanie predicted. "Strike three," a pleased Stephanie declares. "You better tell Ridge to get warmed up in the batter's box," Mass tells her as he tells the driver to take them back to Forrester Creations.

Bridget explains to Rick why Nick was so angry.

As Brooke runs after Nick, Rick thinks someone should go after them, but Dante thinks they need time to talk. Walter, the Justice of the Peace, wants to reschedule, but Jackie is sure Nick and Brooke will come back soon. Bridget notes how angry Nick looked. Jackie asks what man wouldn't be shocked seeing his bride nearly naked in an ad. An ad Brooke didn't approve, Dante points out. Rick asks how Nick can blame his mom when Stephanie obviously did this, so Bridget explains to Rick how Nick wanted their mom to leave Forrester. In that case, Rick thinks they should wait at Chuck's, where Nick and Brooke can find them. Jackie is sure everything will be fine if Nick and Brooke just talk this out. Everyone heads for Chuck's but Bridget, who looks again at the ad and puts Brooke's bouquet down on a nearby park bench.

Ridge fantasizes about Brooke.

Ridge is in the CEO's office at Forrester, looking at a photo of him and Brooke with the kids. Saddened, he stares at the photo and hears someone come in: it's Brooke. Ridge asks what she's doing here. She tells him that he was right about Nick, and about everything. She sees now what he and Stephanie were trying to tell her, that Nick just wanted to control her and change her. She couldn't marry someone who didn't love her for who she is. "Like I do," Ridge says, taking her in her arms. Yes, Brooke says as they start to kiss... but it's all a fantasy! Brought back to reality, Ridge looks at the door, but there's no one there. He looks again at the photo of him and Brooke and flashes back to key moments in their lives. He recalls delivering Bridget at Big Bear. He remembers revealing to Brooke that he was still alive in Puerto Vista. He then recalls the last time he left Brooke; she said that they always had been unforgettable, but right then, she just wanted to forget. He stares at the photo and sighs.

Stephanie tells Ridge that Brooke and Nick are finished.

As Ridge looks at the ad for the Bedroom line, Stephanie comes in and tells him that the wedding is off. Ridge asks if Brooke changed her mind. Stephanie explains to her son that Nick stormed off after seeing the same ad Ridge was just looking at. Of course he saw it, Ridge says, since it's in all the papers. And it was in a kiosk in plain site of the gazebo where the wedding was held, Stephanie adds. Ridge reminds his mother that Brooke didn't want to use that ad; Stephanie counters that Brooke really wanted to use these photos, since she knew it was the right thing to do. For the company, Ridge remarks. And for Brooke, Stephanie adds, who was willing to let Nick change her into something she wasn't. She thinks Brooke and Nick will both be better off now that Nick sees Brooke for who she is. She thinks Brooke only went through with the ceremony to avoid admitting how much Nick was trying to change her, something Ridge would never do. Now, because of these photos, Brooke will see that she'll never have a relationship with Nick like the one she had with Ridge.

Corky finds an ad for Brooke's Bedroom in the paper.

Rick, Jackie, Dante and Bridget arrive at Chuck's. Chuck asks if the groom started the honeymoon early. The wedding guests explain that the wedding didn't happen, even though Jackie is sure Brooke and Nick will work things out. Chuck asks what happened; Stephanie Forrester happened, Jackie says, since no one else, except maybe Ridge, could have run that ad. Chuck asks if this is all about one little ad, but the guests explain that it was more than that. It was a ploy, just like Ridge's runway kiss. She's sure Nick was just stunned to see his bride like... "Like this?" Corky asks, showing them the ad for the Bedroom line in the newspaper. Bridget takes the ad from Corky. Rick looks at it and thinks it was kind of smart. But their mom and Nick already hit a rough patch because of something like this, Bridget explains. Because of Ridge and Stephanie, Jackie comments. Bridget tells Rick how their mom wound up in bed with Ridge, and then there was the runway kiss at the fashion show. That caused quite a buss at Forrester International, Rick recalls. But Nick couldn't handle that, Bridget notes. While Jackie asks Walter to wait a while longer, Dante asks Bridget if she's OK. She tells him that they have roots in the fashion world, so they understand, unlike Nick. Nick could understand if he wants to, Dante says, suggesting that Nick will have to learn if he marries Brooke. Bridget admits that the ad campaign will make Forrester a lot of money, but Nick won't care. She thinks of how she reacted when she found Felicia posing nude for Dante and says she can kind of understand how Nick feels, so she wonders how Nick can get past this "betrayal."

Nick tells Brooke how upset he is.

Brooke follows Nick to the Marlin and tells him that she's going to have the ad agency pull those photos, but Nick thinks it's too late. Maybe for the daily papers, Brooke says, but not for the magazines. Nick is stunned to learn that this is in the papers and guesses that it must be everywhere, especially if Stephanie did this. Brooke says this is business, so it has nothing to do with their relationship. "I didn't sign on to marry a naked pin up model," Nick fumes. Brooke counters that she turned down this campaign, but Nick points out that Stephanie and her perverted son didn't listen. He thinks about all the times he warned Brooke not to let her guard down around those people, and now she did it again! Brooke admits that she should have listened to his warnings; it's just that she thought she could handle Stephanie. But she didn't, Nick exclaims, and look at what it's done to their wedding day! Brooke tells him that Stephanie was counting on him reacting this way, but it doesn't have to be like that. Nick wishes that she had fired those people when he told her to; now they've gone too far by degrading her this way. Brooke tells him to wait just a minute: while she didn't authorize the use of the photos, she doesn't see that she's been degraded. Nick asks if she felt exploited. No, she replies; in fact, when she first saw that photo, she felt beautiful and proud.