At Forrester Creations, Hope was hard at work when Brooke dropped by the design office to check on her. Looking around, Brooke joked that it wasn't a "very good look" that Hope was working harder than Forrester's newest executive. The conversation quickly turned to what Brooke believed to be her daughter's "misguided attraction" to Finn. Hope insisted that her feelings went deeper than that, but she acknowledged that she did not want to lose Finn's friendship and would have to find a way to "handle" her feelings.

Brooke embraced Hope and assured Hope that she was doing the right thing. Ridge passed by the open office door and asked what was going on. He worried that something might be amiss with the Hope for the Future line. Hope assured him that was not the case and thanked him again for giving the line another quarter to find its footing. Ridge then asked if Brooke and Hope's embrace had something to do with Steffy.

Hope told Ridge that she'd felt "lost" ever since Thomas and Douglas had left. She added that her feelings had also been all over the place. Ridge told Hope that if she ever wanted a man's opinion, he would always be there for her. Hope thanked him for the offer. Ridge admitted that he didn't really know all the details surrounding Hope and Thomas' breakup, but he did know one thing. "That boy loved you... loved you very much" Ridge said.

Hope seemed uneasy with Ridge's words. Hope explained that she hadn't felt ready to accept a marriage proposal that she had not been ready for. Hope began to sob openly as she admitted that she'd been struggling. Ridge asked Hope if she'd reconsidered the proposal. Hope replied that she was still not ready.

Later, Hope headed to the executive office to be alone. She sat down at the conference table and recalled Thomas once telling her that he was a "one-woman man." A knock sounded on the door, and Hope told the person on the other side of the door to enter. When she looked up, she saw Douglas beaming broadly in the doorway. They raced toward each other and into an embrace. Hope looked back to the door and spotted Thomas. "Hello, Hope," he said with a smile.

At Il Giardino, Tom told Deacon that he wanted to make amends about the way he'd overstepped the day before. "You turned my life around. You gave me a job when I couldn't get the world to make eye contact with me," Tom said. Deacon assured Tom that they were okay and sent Tom to the supply closet to make a list of any cleaning supplies that were needed.

Once Tom was gone, Sheila walked over to Deacon and asked him how his newest employee was working out. Before Deacon could answer, he caught sight of Bill and Poppy entering the restaurant. "He's a lot more pleasant than some of the customers," he grumbled. Sheila turned and spotted Bill and pleaded with Deacon not to make her wait on Bill's table. Deacon wryly smiled and told Sheila that she owed him.

Deacon approached Bill and Poppy and stated that he hadn't seen Bill's name on the reservation list. Poppy explained that the reservation was under the name "Nozawa" and that someone on the restaurant staff had been kind enough to move their reservation from the day before because Bill had needed to cancel due to work commitments.

Asked where they wanted to be seated, Bill quipped, "Anywhere but the homicidal maniac section." Once seated, Poppy thanked Bill for the "existence" she suddenly had. Bill, she said, had transformed her life and Luna's. Bill said that he did not have the words to express how he felt.

Later, Tom brought Deacon items for a take-out order, an order that included "three orders of toe hors d'oeuvres." Deacon chuckled and revealed that he'd added the item to the menu after his wedding. Tom again brought up concerns that he had with Sheila. He said that it freaked up him out that Sheila had cut off one of her toes to fake a bear attack. Sheila overheard the conversation and rolled her eyes. Deacon had to rush off to take a call from a wine distributor.

After Deacon left, Sheila turned around to talk to Tom about what she'd heard him say. Tom's face fell as he took note of the bread knife with a long, serrated blade that Sheila held in her hand. Sheila thanked Tom for all that had had done and told him that he was well liked. However, she admonished him that that could change if he were to say or do the wrong thing.

Tom arrived tableside to pour water for Bill and Poppy, but things went wrong when he accidentally spilled water all over the table and knocked one of the glasses over. As Tom was apologizing, he locked eyes with Poppy. They both stared at each other silently for a few moments before Poppy asked for some privacy. Bill groused about the poor service, but Poppy was clearly elsewhere. When she finally snapped back to the present, Bill leaned in for a kiss.

Back in the kitchen, Sheila told Tom that he should not bad-mouth her to her husband. "I may have had a colorful past, but it was my past, and it stays there," Sheila said coldly. Tom nodded in agreement. Tom walked away and peered out into the restaurant, where he once again locked eyes with Poppy.

• Poppy tries to make peace with Li

• Hope tells Brooke she'll put a stop to her feelings for Finn

• Ridge tells Steffy that he wants Brooke on the executive team