My stepbro's back and I'm gonna be in trouble

Like Forrester Creations' various fashion lines, story threads were woven and intertwined this week as Steffy was forced to team up with Brooke, and Tom mixed it up with both Sheila and Poppy. But Hope, who had another "harmless crush", this time on Finn, got a shock when her stepbrother lover came home! Sew it up with Two Scoops' Mike!

Has your week been bold and beautiful? Were you upset because an adversary got half the job she used to have? Did you go toe-to-nine-toes with your boss's wife, only to find your new garden had grown a Poppy? Was your new super crush eclipsed by the arrival of your old super crush? These and more situations faced the Forrester-Logan-Spencer-Finnegan-Nozawa clan this week!

Happy summer, Scoopers! While most folks are sweating it out under a "heat dome," B&B's denizens are sweltering from some interesting match-ups. Steffy now has to co-CEO with Brooke. A suddenly single Katie is jealous of Poppy, who seems to know Tom, who got in trouble for doing research on Sheila. And Hope was jolted out of some Finn-tastic fantasies by the arrival of last year's fantasy, Thomas! Y'all ready? Let's Scoop about it!

Brooke must have felt like a broken record -- not only because she checked in on the status of Hope's crush on Finn more than once this week, but because last year at this time, it was Thomas that Hope's steamy daydreams centered on. Maybe next June, it'll be Carter! Hope pooh-poohed her hot hallucinations and assured her mom that she could easily put a stop to her "harmless crush."

Yeah, except that's what Hope said last year about Thomas, and she was swapping real spit with him almost immediately after. Hope did offer some self-awareness, though, when she conceded that she didn't want to feel the way she did about Finn and that her judgment was clouded. Brooke was glad Hope at least had some grasp on reality, because "to even think about being with him would be like..."

"...becoming your mother?" Hope finished. This was a good point, and perhaps it was inevitable that Hope's dormant "Slut from the Valley" DNA would assert itself -- that certainly seems to explain Hope going from extra virgin to forbidden fruit taster. Maybe Hope's trauma, as I'd suggested before, isn't in how Thomas' crazy affected her, but the toll Liam's years of waffling had on her. Still, I'd rather have Hope with Finn anytime. After all, Hope wasn't raised with him!

While Steffy, who does nothing but bitch people out anymore, laid down the law to Hope about Finn for the three millionth time, Brooke took Deacon into her confidence about their daughter and her latest infatuation. La Logan insisted that Deacon had to keep his sexy lips closed about the matter, but if Brooke was so concerned about confidentiality, why did she go to Il Giardino, a public place? Even if it was closed?

Brooke had to know the new Mrs. Sharpe would be lurking around, and indeed, Sheila traded serving tea for listening to it being poured. You could almost hear the wheels turning as Sheila filed the info about Hope away for future use, particularly as it was just on the heels of Finn swinging by and telling Sheila yet again that she couldn't be a part of his life.

The broken-recordness continued as Sheila railed about Steffy. If it wasn't for Steffy, Sheila repeated, Sheila could have a "beautiful future" with Finn and Hayes! Okay, Sheila, you've been on that for three years already. And what about the beautiful present you've got? You left two people for dead in an alley only to serve a millisecond of jail time and get married to a legendary stud. Try a little gratitude, why don'cha.

Deacon wasn't loving having to scrape Sheila off the ceiling about Steffy again, which new employee Tom made sure to hang back and observe. Sheila unwittingly returned the spying favor by listening in as Tom laid out his concerns about Sheila to Deacon. Tom cared about Deacon, and therefore he had Googled Deacon's new wife, only to find a treasure trove of treachery on his browser!

Hmm. Some of you have wondered if Tom could be Deacon's real father; we only ever saw Deacon's bastard stepdad, Daryl. And hmm. Tom and Deacon do have the same eyes. Which Tom might find gouged out if he's not careful. Sheila confronted Tom, brandishing a somewhat innocuous bread knife. Not like the shiny butcher knives she threatened Lauren Fenmore and James Warwick with in the '90s. Maybe Sheila has changed.

The knife unceremoniously stashed after the commercial break, Sheila saved the sharpness for her tongue and told Tom it wouldn't be a good idea to get on her bad side. She didn't want Tom talking smack about her to her husband, warning Tom, "don't ever do that again." Bet Tom isn't very glad he helped save Sheila anymore. I'm liking seeing so much of the IG kitchen set, though. Makes it feel like an actual restaurant!

For some inexplicable reason, Bill had Katie over to get into how Katie felt about Bill having a third mystery child. I'll grant that Katie's concern over how Will would take it was legitimate (and we're getting a SORASed Will soon, in the form of the son of Y&R's Joshua Morrow [Nick]!) But other than that, Luna being Bill's daughter is really none of Katie's business.

What I really don't understand is, what the hell happened with Katie and Carter? Poor Mr. Walton -- first Quinn ditches him off-screen, now Katie does. And I get the feeling it was only done so Katie could get all bent out of shape about Poppy. The way Katie reminisced with Bill about Will and reminded Poppy that long-installed guard Alfred was around when Katie was Mrs. Spencer implied a jealousy Katie shouldn't have.

Katie split from Bill eons ago and refused to take him back, even when he was forcing the issue. Plus, this is the man who locked her in a tower to keep her from telling the truth to Liam when Bill knew Katie was a heart transplant recipient. And, oh yeah -- he cheated with Steffy and Brooke. Katie should feel well rid of Bill, co-parenting aside, instead of inviting Poppy to indulge in a box of Meow Mix with her.

Speaking of cattiness that would upstage even the biggest humane society, Poppy made the futile decision to visit Li in the hopes of mending fences with her sister. Not surprisingly, Li wasn't having it. Li and Steffy should get together and go bowling. All they do is piss and moan and scoff with scowls glued to their faces. Unfazed, Poppy wanted peace, even if Li did insert herself into the DNA test that declared Luna as Bill's daughter.

And what about that? The proceedings seemed to be valid, but suppose for a moment Li has knowledge that Jack is Luna's dad. Or even Finn, which was once hinted at! Either eventuality would be enough for Li to hate Poppy as much as she does, and enough for Li to tamper with Luna's paternity test; why would Li care if Bill had fathered Poppy's child? Yeah, there's more going on here, for sure.

Putting that in the "You Can Say That Again" category, Poppy lunched with Bill at Il Giardino, and Boppy's appetite-killing goo-goo-eyeing was thankfully interrupted when Tom literally threw water on the lovefest. Well, not on purpose. But when Tom locked eyes with Poppy, she almost lost that lunch. Now, what's the deal there? We're certainly weaving Tom into the canvas lately, and I'm intrigued.

Last week, Ridge decided the Brooke's Bedroom line should be rebooted -- again. Now, look -- I'm hittin' double fives in less than two weeks, so far be it from me to cry ageism...but Brooke was right. I could see her being a figurehead and occasional representative, but not the lead model. Talk about a lot of pressure to stay fit as an older woman!

There are lots of ways Ridge could have put Brooke in the limelight without resurrecting her lingerie line. How about kick-ass fashion for the woman over 55? Anyway, Ridge wasn't ready to stop there. He called Brooke, Carter, Steffy, and Hope into a meeting and announced that he was stepping down as co-CEO because he wanted to focus on design with Eric and Thomas out of commission...

...and install Brooke in his place! Well, surprise, surprise, Sourpuss Steffy wasn't about it. As she griped to Finn later on, "every time I turn around, there's another Logan!" What is this, 2010? That's when Steffy was at the height of her anti-Loganness, and let's face it: too much has happened since then for Steffy to still be copping this attitude.

What happened to the years that Steffy and Hope decided to raise their kids as an extended family? And if you really wanna go there, Steffy's pro-Forrester rhetoric holds no water, as genetically, Steffy is a Marone. She's a Douglas, yes. But not really a Forrester. So, Steffy can miss me with this anti-Logan stuff. Now, should Ridge have discussed the regime change with Steffy first instead of just dropping it on her? Yes.

That aside, Steffy pouted that Ridge asking her to work with Brooke was personal, and Ridge knew it. But Steffy was outnumbered; Carter, Hope, and Ridge supported Brooke, who told Steffy she had been concerned about how Steffy would react. But in the end, Brooke asserted, it wasn't a matter of Forrester vs. Logan. It was Forrester and Logan united. Amen, sister. Preach!

Really, the Forresters and the Logans have been intertwined for over 30 years. This whole taking sides thing was old before Steffy was even born. To say nothing of the fact that Brooke was successfully running the company as CEO -- without sharing the position -- when Steffy wasn't even a glimmer in Ridge's vas deferens. So, Steffy, have Charlie bring up every seat in the building and take all of them.

I actually think it's a rather novel twist to have Steffy and Brooke running the company together! They both have years of experience under their garter belts, plus, there's enough bad blood between them to make for plenty of on-screen conflict. Brooke has been sidelined for too long. When was the last time she had a specific job description? And it's been seven years since the CEO seat was up for grabs, so this arc actually has a freshness to it now.

Of course, when Finn tried to get Steffy to chill, Steffy got mad that Finn was defending Brooke just after defending Hope. Man, I've never seen a guy in so many doghouses; every PetSmart in L.A. must be out of stock, because they're all in Finn's backyard. Doesn't Steffy realize that her constant nagging of Finn is only going to push him away?

On cue, as if picking up the scent, Brooke needed even more assurance that Hope wasn't going to act on her feelings for Finn. Hope said she realized Finn was off-limits and received a hug from Brooke for her efforts. Then Ridge walked in and was like a pit bull with a bone, reading things into the mother-daughter hug and wanting to know what was going on. Was it Steffy? Was it Steffy?

Hope replied that it wasn't and that she had been going through something unrelated. Ridge offered his ear in addition to Brooke's and should have left it there, but he persisted, getting Hope all verklempt. Hope tearfully said she had been feeling lost since Thomas took off with Douglas, and Ridge recalled how good Thomas and Hope had been together.

This must be why Ridge and Brooke have never remarried. If they do, Hope and Thomas will officially be stepsiblings again! Eww! But Hope made one interesting point -- if nothing else, Thomas had taught her what it was like to be loved by someone who only had eyes for her (continuing to forget Wyatt, natch), and, going forward, she knew she could never settle again. I'll give her that. Bravo!

Katie should get on the PR department to come up with a new slogan -- "Forrester Creations: where coincidence is as plentiful as chiffon." Because no less than seconds after Hope sat in the main office, thinking about Thomas, did Douglas walk in...with Thomas behind him! (Dang, Douglas is growing up fast!) Yep, Thomas is back! And now we have both a Thomas and a Tom on the canvas at the same time. Someone didn't think that through!

While on the subject of thinking, I wonder what Thomas will think when he finds out Hope's fantasies are no longer about him, but of his brother-in-law who dropped the ball on sending Thomas up the river for letting Emma die? Maybe it won't matter, since the preview for next week indicated that Thomas has returned engaged...to Paris! Hey, if you're going to live in Paris, you might as well come home with a Paris!

How did the past week of episodes grab ya, Scoopers? To me, there's a subtle shake-up going on with the show right now, and I am quite curious to see where it goes. Is Tom about to become a major player between his obvious conflict with Sheila and his apparent conflict with Poppy? Could Tom be Deacon's dad? Has Steffy reached equal status with Li in being an unrelenting grouch? Will Hope ditch her fantasy doctor for her stepbrother? Does Katie need to get over herself in terms of Bill and Poppy? Do you think Brooke and Steffy will be fiyah running FC together or just cause fireworks? And are you glad Will is coming back grownup? Put the needle on the record in the Soap Central message boards, or simply click here to submit feedback!

No more words will issue forth from my fingers into my keyboard, which can only mean it's time to wrap things up. But I will be back in two weeks to talk about this new direction we may be heading in. In the meantime, I only have one thing to say. No, it's not "sashay, shantay." It's keep watching, be alert, and most of all, be bold!

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