Wednesday, July 25, 2007, Episode #5110

Eric tells Stephanie not to worry.

At the Forrester mansion, Eric chases Hope, R.J., Alexandria and Abby up from the pool for their baths. As the kids run up, Stephanie revels in the chaos of the children's joyful attitudes and tells Eric that she missed having kids around. In fact, since they already have Felicia and Dino in the guest house and have plenty of empty rooms, she's been thinking of asking Ridge to move in here with Hope and R.J. Eric wishes her luck with convincing Ridge, but Stephanie still would love to have all her kids and grand-kids here. Eric asks if that includes Thorne and Aly. Speaking of Thorne, Stephanie asks Eric if Thorne seemed OK earlier. Eric thinks Thorne was just trying to have a good time and suggests that Stephanie leave it alone. Stephanie goes up to check on the kids and comes back to report that Abby got the kids into the tub and then into bed and was now reading the younger kids a bedtime story. Eric remarks that Stephanie likes Abby because she sees some of herself in the girl. Stephanie asks if he means that she and Abby are both bossy. Eric admits he would have preferred to say that Abby, like Stephanie, is a natural born leader. Stephanie thinks Abby is a lot like Ashley and raves about Ashley's involvement in Ridge's life now. After checking on the kids again, Stephanie returns and asks Eric if he knew that Thorne's been leaving Aly with Felicia a lot. Between that and their son's date with Alana, she's concerned, but Eric advises her to let Thorne have his fun.

Thorne thinks he sees Darla.

At the Bikini Beach club, party host Jean Claude greets his old friend Thorne and admires Thorne's date. Thorne introduces Alana to the designer, and the model tells Jean Claude that she loves his work. Jean Claude is glad to see that they have some champagne and tells them to help themselves to the caviar as well. As Jean Claude continues to make the rounds with his guest, Thorne orders some more champagne. He and Alana sit at a table as models stop by to show off Jean Claude's latest designs. When a blond model comes over and asks Thorne what he thinks of the dress she's wearing, Thorne looks up and sees Darla standing there! Thorne tells "Darla" that he likes it very much. As the model walks away, it's clear that she's not Darla after all, so Thorne seems shaken by his seeing his late wife.

Thorne gets shaken up.

Across the room, Nick sits with Taylor and orders some sparkling water. He starts to tell her about his new employee at Forrester Creations, but Taylor interrupts him and tells him that she already knows that it's Brooke. She probes him to find out if his motives in hiring Brooke were personal, but Nick insists that he did it for the good of the business. Taylor remarks that many people would think she was crazy to trust her husband working not only with his lovely ex-wife, but with all those beautiful models. Nick assures her that the only beautiful woman he sees is her. If that's the case, Taylor says, he better not turn around. Nick turns around anyway and sees Thorne. With a very beautiful woman, Taylor adds, pointing to Alana. Nick insists that he doesn't see any women, and even if he did, they couldn't hold a candle to his wife. Meanwhile, over by Thorne's table, Alana spots her agent and steps away to say hi. While she's gone, a still-shaken Thorne downs some more pills and drinks some more champagne.

Taylor and Nick worry about Thorne.

Thorne spots Taylor with Nick and comes over to congratulate Taylor on her finding happiness with her new husband and with a baby on the way. Taylor thanks him and responds that she's glad to see him having a good time tonight. Thorne retorts that he isn't having a good time at all, but he guesses that Taylor is glad to think that, since he hasn't been happy since he lost Darla! He supposes that Taylor is able to be happy for him since she married "this clown." Nick tells Thorne to back off, but Thorne adds that he's just glad he and Taylor didn't get married, since he sees know that Taylor never loved him at all! She only helped him out of guilt for what she did, he accuses. Taylor tries to calm Throne down, but he tells her that he's still grieving over his late wife, while Taylor's living it up with her new husband. He asks why she isn't having any wine tonight. Taylor reminds him that she gave up on booze. "Just a little too late for Darla," he remarks. Nick offers to get Thorne a ride home, but Thorne says he's not drunk. Jean Claude sees the excitement and comes over to usher Thorne away. While the designer takes Thorne back to Alana, Nick fumes about the way Thorne talked to Taylor, but Taylor seems worried about Thorne's odd behavior.

Brooke tries to reassure Rick.

Rick stops by Forrester Creations, where Brooke fills him in on her new job. She teases Rick by asking if he'd like to join her over here. As much as he'd love to work Ridge-free, Rick admits, he thinks he'll stay put at Forrester Originals, although he thanks his mom for the offer. Given his comment about Ridge, Brooke suggests that he put aside his personal feelings for Ridge when he's at work. Rick doesn't know if he can and asks Brooke how she plans to do that here, since she'll be working so closely with Nick. When Brooke hesitates to answer, Rick wonders if something's already happened between his mom and Nick. Brooke tells him about how she and Nick almost kissed on the Marlin, but she assures him that she and Nick both agreed not to tell Taylor, since they both promised never to let it happen again. Rick fears his mom is in denial about her feelings, but Brooke says she'd rather be close to Nick at work than not involved with him at all. Rick fears his mom is settling for Nick's "crumbs," but Brooke tells him that there will plenty of time to worry about her love life after she gets the kids back and re-establishes her career. Since she's sure they both have work to do, Brooke bids her son goodbye.

Ashley sees what's in the jewelry box.

At Ridge's place, Ashley hesitantly opens the small jewelry box and is relieved to see earrings inside! Ridge teases her about the look on her face and asks if she was expecting a ring. Actually, Ashley says, she was terrified that a ring was inside, since it's too soon in their relationship for that. She's enjoying their time together, but she wants to savor every moment of getting to know him. Ridge agrees and suggests that they're really in tune. Ashley jokes that they'll soon be finishing each other's sentences, so Ridge suggests that he try to finish her next sentence. Ashley responds by kissing him, so Ridge completes the thought by escorting her to his bedroom, where he tells her about his fantasies of being with her in this bed. The two of them get busy between the sheets.

While he's in bed with Ashley, Ridge gets a call from Brooke.

As Ridge and Ashley break from making love, Ridge gets a phone call from Brooke, who wants to come over to say good night to the kids. Ridge informs her that they're at a sleepover with their cousins at his mother's house. Brooke fumes that Stephanie has her kids and says she's going over there. Ridge tries to discourage her, but Brooke doesn't hear him and hangs up. Ridge turns his attention back to Ashley, but she senses that he's worried about the phone call and suggests that he deal with it. Ridge decides to call his mother to tell her that Brooke is coming over. Stephanie thanks him for the heads up and assures him that she can handle Brooke. As he hangs up, Ridge fears that he just made matters worse. Ashley suggests he head over to his mother's place to defuse the situation, but Ridge declines, since tonight is their night. He promises that they won't be distracted again.