The Bold and the Beautiful recap (Feb. 24): Brooke struggles with her date

On today’s Bold and the Beautiful recap, we’re diving into Brooke’s date which didn’t go how Hollis hoped it would. As well as Hope and Liam’s reaction to Taylor dropping the news that Brooke is on the dating scene. And, is it me, or is our soap getting increasingly heavy handed with Taylor and Brooke’s friendship/connection. We get it, they’re bonded and are perfectly right for each other in this moment in time. When’s Ridge coming back again? Still no word? Shoot.

The episode opened with Brooke and Hollis enjoying their meal together. She thanked him for all he’d done which wasn’t more than showing up since Taylor (who’s overly invested in Brooke’s love life) put the date together at Logan Manor. The pair shared meaningless conversation for the most part until they moved to the couch where Brooke got to bask in the glory of her accomplishments over the years.

The two traded a few kisses and seemed to be getting on, but Brooke ended up sending Hollis home when she realized she isn’t ready to date. Hollis said he’d like to continue hanging out with Brooke even as friends, but we’ll have to see if that goes anywhere.

The Bold and the Beautiful recap (Feb. 24)

For reasons that became obvious later, Taylor didn’t go home like she said she was going to do. Instead, she went to see Hope and Liam at the cabin. Prior to her visit, they’d been talking about being worn out from playing hide and seek with Beth. Hope expressed that she misses Douglas but the conversation then turned to Brooke dating again which took Liam by surprise.

They both were taken back when Taylor showed up and informed them that not only is Brooke ready to mingle, she’s already on a date. Taylor came to see the couple because she wanted to share the good news. Hope, however, was worried about the age difference between her mom and Hollis. She doesn’t want her to be taken advantage of. But Taylor assured her this was just meant to be a bit of fun and a nice way for Brooke to take the first step into a life without Ridge.

After Taylor left, Liam and Hope continued to discuss Brooke’s date. Hope is of the mind that her mom should be spending time with someone who knows her and who she has a connection with. She made no secret of the fact that she’s been hoping that person would be her father, Deacon, though she did concede a reunion with Ridge isn’t out of the cards if he does better by Brooke.

Liam acknowledged that his father, Bill, would fall in that category, too, but as Hope pointed out, these three men aren’t actually available to Brooke at the moment. So there’s no one they can think of who would fit the bill for Brooke.

Cue Taylor going to check on Brooke after seeing Hollis leave the property. She’d been about to leave herself when she spotted him driving away and decided to come up to Brooke’s room to make sure everything was okay. It wasn’t, of course.

Brooke had taken off her beautiful, black dress and jewelry to settle into comfortable sleepwear. She opened up to Taylor, sharing that she’d had a lovely time with Hollis but after they kissed, she had to stop because she knew she wasn’t ready to date. Brooke doesn’t want to sleep with anyone on the first date (tbh I’m not even sure why that was on the table in the first place, it’s typically not her vibe), and she doesn’t want to launch herself back into a dating pool of strangers.

What she wants is to see someone she already knows and deepen their connection. Hollis is nice and she enjoyed their kiss, but Brooke wants to be with someone who knows her already and still wants to continue to get to know her better. Taylor sympathized, it’s how she feels as well. They’re on the same page on this journey into a life removed from the romantic possibility of Ridge and it’s been difficult for them both.

Taylor told Brooke that she knows her and cares for her knowing what she knows. And, though she’s not ready to move in with her because it’s a big commitment, she does want to be there for her friend. Emphasis on friend, as the show keeps telling us at every turn, they have a friendship that’s transcending the odds and surprising everyone.

We’ll see whether it’ll deepen as time goes on, transform into something else entirely, or fracture whenever Ridge does make his way back to town. But, for now, the sleepover Brooke pitched weeks ago got the greenlight on today’s episode as Taylor promised to stay with her friend for the night so they could hang out and she could cheer Brooke up after the realization that she’s not ready to date made Brooke sad.

Until next time, Bold fans. Stay beautiful!

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