Everyone is shocked by Thomas' proposal to Zoe, including her. She tells him that she would like to hear him say "I love you" before she answers. Eventually, he does tell her that, so she accepts. Douglas runs upstairs, with Hope following. Liam and Brooke confer. They can't believe how Thomas is obviously using Douglas and Zoe to get to Hope. Eric and Ridge welcome Zoe into the family. Eric and Steffy take photos for social media. Later, Eric and Ridge asks Thomas if he's serious about this proposal. It seems a little rushed, and it wasn't too long ago that he was obsessed with Hope. Thomas explains that he loves Zoe now and that he's moved on from Hope. Brooke warns Zoe that she should leave now because Thomas is using her. Liam and Brooke both chastise Thomas for what he's doing. Liam warns him that he won't have Hope. Liam also points out to Steffy what Thomas is up to. Upstairs, Hope assures Douglas that she'll always be his mommy, even if Zoe and Thomas get married. He begs her to marry his dad instead because he loves her. Thomas walks in just as Douglas is saying this, and Hope looks up. They both have awkward looks on their faces.
Thomas: Say yes, zoe. Say you'll be my wife. Zoe: I--I don't, uh, I mean, I didn't even know that you were anywhere near ready for this. So... Thomas: Do you understand what I'm asking you? Zoe: Uh, you really want this? Y-you're really proposing to me here in your family home? Thomas: Well, it's your family home if you say yes. Zoe: I--I guess I'm just a little overwhelmed, you know, trying to get my brain to catch up. Steffy: Yeah, I think that's true for all of us. Thomas: What do you say, zoe? Will you be my wife? Make me the happiest man in the world, be a stepmother to my son? Zoe: I--I'm honored and flattered that you would ask me, uh, here, in front of your family. But, um... I need something from you first. Thomas: Okay. What is it? Thomas: I need to hear you say that you love me. Uh, can you say it, thomas? Because it's just that you haven't said it yet, and it's really important to me, and I can't give you the answer you're looking for until I hear those three little words. Zoe: Look, I--I know that you care about me and you like me and have fun with me, but I need to know, if I'm gonna marry you, that it goes on a bit deeper than that. Okay? I've seen love in your eyes, thomas, but I've never heard you say the words. Shouldn't that come before a proposal? Thomas: You're right. That is something that's very hard for me to say, to be that vulnerable... especially after I've been burned before. But just 'cause I haven't said the words doesn't mean I haven't felt them because I have. Okay? And I've felt them more and more lately, which is why I decided to ask you to marry me, to give me and my son a bright future. Zoe: Okay. But, um, you still haven't said it. Thomas: Zoe buckingham... I love you. I honestly do. Zoe: Thank you, thomas. Thank you. I love you, too. Thomas: Sorry it took me so long to say. Zoe: No. Don't apologize. But you understand why I needed to hear it, right? Thomas: Of course. I'm sorry if this was-- this was too much too fast. I--I--I realize, if you want some time to think about it, it makes all the sense in the world, and I could really think about this and make it even more romantic in maybe an intimate-- Zoe: No. Thomas: Setting. Zoe: No. I--I--I know how I feel, and I know what I want. So... yes. [ Chuckles ] I'll marry you. Thomas: Yes? Zoe: Yes. I am thrilled to be mrs. Thomas forrester, thrilled to be your wife. Thomas: [ Chuckles ] [ Applause ] Tremfya® helps adults Zoe: [ Chuckles ] Hey, you have good taste. Thomas: Yeah, but you already knew that. Zoe: Yeah. Thomas: [ Chuckles ] Zoe: I--I just still can't believe this. Thomas: Uh, well, it's happening. [ Eric, quinn chatter ] Oh, uh, granddad wants to take a photo. Zoe: Oh. Thomas: So we should-- Eric: Okay, stand right there. Brooke: Hope's been up there for a while with douglas. Liam: You know what? You know what? Thomas should be up there consoling him, not hope. Thomas is the reason the kid ran off in the first place. Brooke: If he even noticed. Liam: He noticed. Thomas is getting exactly what he wants from this stupid proposal. Trust me. Brooke: He's using his own son to manipulate hope. Liam: [ Sighs ] Eric: All right, come on. This is very nice, right? This is-- this is post worthy, right? Thomas: You're on social media? Eric: Yeah. What, you don't follow me? Yeah, how--how do I tag you? All right, never mind. I'll send it to you the old-fashioned way. Thomas: Okay. Eric: I'll mail it to you. Thomas: All right. Well, you can also-- you can send it to steffy, and she can post it to her zillion followers. Steffy: You guys talking about posting a photo on my social media? We can do it. Eric: All right. Steffy: Ready? [ Shutter clicks ] Eric: Okay. That's good. Brooke: Did you see douglas' face? Liam: Of course I saw his face. The kid was devastated. Brooke: I know. This is terrible. Liam: Because none of this makes any sense. Oh, yeah, propose without even saying you love her. Yeah, that's normal. [ Liam, brooke whisper ] Zoe: Uh, hey, should-- Liam: Of course he doesn't love her. Thomas: What? Zoe: ...She really be doing that? Thomas: Doing what? Zoe: Making our engagement public 'cause one post from steffy, and half the world will know. Thomas: Is there something wrong with that? Zoe: No. No, no. Nothing's-- nothing's wrong. It, um, I mean, getting married is a good idea, right? We're not moving too fast? Thomas: Us getting engaged, rushed or not, it feels right. Do you understand how much I need you in my life, zoe? Your goodness, your beauty? [ Guests chatter ] Zoe: I need you, too. And I'm just now realizing how much. At first I was in shock. But I'm really glad that you proposed, thomas. I'M... really happy that you believe in us. I'm excited to have a future with you. Eric: And we're excited for you. Zoe: Uh... Thomas: Oh. Zoe: Thank you. Is this really happening? I'm joining the family. Ridge: Come here. Zoe: Thank you. Ridge: Welcome to the madness. Zoe: [ Chuckles ] Brooke: You've proven it again. Douglas means nothing to you. Thomas: What? Brooke: The proposal stunt. Did you even see what it did to him? Thomas: Okay, look, ahem, kids aren't always thrilled to get new stepparents. I know firsthand. But douglas will get over it. Plus, he's got hope to help him along. Liam: But you don'T. You understand that. You don't have hope. And you're not going to. You know, we all know what this is, right? This--this fake proposal. You want douglas so upset that hope has to be with you for his sake. And you know something, thomas? It's a stupid plan because all you're doing is hurting your son, and you're hurting zoe. And I'm not gonna let you get away with it. Douglas: Why would daddy do that? Hope: Look, I know it's a shock. I'm in shock, too. Douglas: You didn't know? Hope: That your daddy wants to marry zoe? No, I--I didn'T. But I can understand why. I mean, zoe... zoe'S...nice, and she's very beautiful. Douglas: I know she's nice, but I don't want another mommy. I don'T. I only want you. Brooke: Can I offer you some advice? Zoe: Sure. Brooke: Run. Zoe: Brooke. Brooke: I mean it. Run. He doesn't care about you. Zoe: Thank you. I really do appreciate your words of wisdom, but-- Brooke: How could you accept his proposal, knowing how he feels about hope? Zoe: How he felt about hope. Okay? You heard him earlier. He said he was ready to move on, ready to start a future with me. Brooke: Right. Partners in crime. You two would make a good couple. Zoe: You know, I realize you probably will never forgive me after everything that happened with beth, but-- Brooke: You're right about that. Zoe: But I am joining the family, and-- Brooke: Just wake up, zoe. Were thomas' eyes on you when he was proposing to you? No. He was looking at hope, trying to gauge her reaction. He got what he wanted. Douglas ran upstairs, very upset, and hope went after him, probably feeling a ton of guilt. Zoe: Guilt? Brooke: 'Cause she's not giving douglas what he wants-- his mother and father together. That's why thomas is doing this. Zoe: In your opinion. Brooke: No. This is fact. He is using you. He's using you to get to hope. Zoe: Okay. Look, your daughter, she is lovely, and I admire her so much, but she is not everything to everyone. Yes, thomas was infatuated with her, and he wanted a life with her, but that was in the past. And honestly, brooke, I don't care if you believe it or not. Thomas: Excuse me. Ridge: It's not as easy. Eric: Is she in touch with her father? Ridge: I don't-- Thomas: Hey. Ridge: Hey. Hi. Thomas: I-- I just want to thank you both for accepting zoe into the family. Ridge: Of course, son. Eric: I should think you would always expect your family to support you, always. Thomas: I think I'm finally understanding that. Ridge: It just, um... it just seems a little sudden. You sure about this? Thomas: Yeah, uh, I am. Ridge: Okay. How well do you know zoe, really? Thomas: Okay, look, zoe's beautiful, she's smart, she's kind, and... she's the path toward the future I see for myself. Ridge: Yeah. Your future with zoe or your future with hope? Son, what's the real reason behind this proposal? Hope: Hey, do you remember a while ago when we talked about custody? Douglas: That's what made you my mommy-- daddy sharing custody. Hope: Exactly. So I'm your mommy now, even if your daddy marries someone else. Douglas: But he should marry you, not zoe. Hope: Well, your daddy and I tried that, and it wasn't the best fit. But the good news is that he found somebody who he thinks would be, and a good fit for you, too. Douglas: No. I don't want that. Hope: Well, I think that's just 'cause you don't really know her yet. And she's been trying to get to know you. I mean, zoe, she's been-- she's been sweet, and she wants to be your friend. Douglas: Then why can't she just be daddy's friend, too? Why does she have to marry him? Hope: I don't know. I just--I hope it's because they really, really love each other. Douglas: I won't call her mommy. Hope: Oh, douglas, I doubt that she would ask you to do that. All right? It's-- it's complicated. And no one expects you to fully understand it yet. But just know that I will always be your mommy, okay? And I will always be here for you. Douglas: That's what my first mommy said. I already lost her. I can't lose you, too. That's what will happen if daddy marries zoe. Please marry daddy. Please, mommy. Liam: Please tell me you don't actually support this. Steffy: I'm doing my best to. Liam: Why? You know thomas doesn't actually want zoe. Steffy: I don't know that, and you don't know that, either. Liam: Oh, you don't know-- you don't--okay, fine. What about douglas? You saw how he reacted to the proposal, right? Steffy: Yeah. Liam: Okay. So thomas knows hope, right? He knows she's probably up there right now feeling horrible about all this, and thomas knows if he manipulates douglas enough, then hope's gonna crack. Steffy: And she's gonna go back to him? Liam: Exactly. Ridge: Thomas, I'm not trying to start a fight with you. I just want you to look me in the eye and tell me about this proposal. Eric: Thomas, you have to admit this just came out of the blue, kind of. Now, I'm--I'm willing to welcome zoe into the family if you want to start a life with her, but if there's something else going on here-- Ridge: Something that has to do with hope, maybe. Thomas: Okay, look, hope doesn't want to be with me, all right? The only place that i fit into her life is as co-parent or designer of her line, okay? I have to accept that. Ridge: And we had to accept that you were obsessed with hope for a very long time. So tell me this has nothing to do with her. Tell me this has nothing to do with hope. Thomas: Okay, you wanna know if it has to do with hope? Yes. It does. It has to do with hope. It has to do with getting over hope. I have this beautiful, incredibly sexy woman that wants to marry me. Don't keep pushing me on this and questioning my feelings for zoe. Ridge: We're not questioning& that at all. It just seems that you're rushing. Thomas: Wouldn't you? I mean, look, you've got this beautiful woman that wants to marry me. It's--it's amazing. She's gonna help me move on. I mean, what, you think I should turn her away? Ridge: I don't think any of those things. It just seems that all of it is a little suspicious. Thomas: I am so sick and tired of all of the suspicions, okay? I'm tired of liam and brooke constantly questioning me. They want me to move on, and then they question me when I do. I'm sick and tired of all of that. I don't want to listen to them anymore. I want to move on with my life. I want to get on past what I had with hope and move forward here with zoe. Okay? Ridge: That's all I wanted to hear. Thomas: [ Sighs ] Okay. Look... I need to go check on my son. Quinn: Thomas. Zoe: Is everything all right? Thomas: Yeah. Why? Quinn: Uh, 'cause we saw you talking to ridge and eric and it seemed a little intense. Thomas: No. No, just, uh, just dad being dad. He's really happy for me. Uh, they both are. Zoe: Hmm. Thomas: I'm very lucky. But I need to go check on douglas. Is that okay? Zoe: Yeah. Of course. Just, uh, hurry back. Thomas: Okay. Zoe: [ Giggles ] Quinn: So are you excited to start planning your wedding? Zoe: I am. Quinn: Yeah? Zoe: I'm real excited. Quinn: Yeah. Zoe: I really did not even see this coming. Douglas: Please, mommy, marry daddy so you won't go away. Hope: Sweetie, I understand why you're afraid that might happen, but I promise you it won'T. We're a family, always. And when your dad marries zoe, he's just going to be adding to that family. It'll just be one more adult to look after you. You're not going to see less of me, okay? Douglas: But I'd see even more of you if daddy married you instead. We could live together. Daddy loves you. He told me. He wants to marry you, not zoe. We could be a family with beth. Please, say yes. Tell daddy you want to marry him. Please, mommy.