Although Bold & Beautiful has launched into a murder mystery with the recent deaths of Tom Starr and Hollis the bartender, they haven’t forgotten about the need for some “love in the afternoon”, however twisted. That’s right… the stars are aligning for a great, big, controversial summer love quadrangle. Keep reading as we walk you through the set-up.

It came as a surprise to exactly no one when Hope began falling for Steffy’s Husband™ given that he’s arguably the ideal man for the blonde who is determined to uphold the values her mother never could. A straight arrow like Hope, Finn is courteous, reliable, professional, and let’s not forget… hunky.

Ironically, as Hope flirts with temptation with the married man, it’s drawn more comparisons between her and her fickle mama, once known as The Slut From the Valley (at least to Stephanie), than ever before.

Nonetheless, on paper, Hope and Finn would make a terrific match (other than the fact that he’s already spoken for) and he offers something that Thomas simply cannot: An untarnished past. Aside from his irritating transgressions with regard to his Birth Mother™, Dr. Feelgood appears to be as pure as the driven snow. Now we’re compelled to point out that he could no longer be held in such esteem if he were to leave his wife and kids to hook up with Steffy’s lifelong rival, but hey, soap characters can only be perfect for so long.

Will it happen? We’re certain it’s headed that way, particularly now that Thomas has been shipped back to France alongside his new fiancée and his son. There’s no ex-lover to distract Hope, and no Douglas to sweetly pry as to why mommy is hugging Uncle Finn.

Of course, it’s all very confusing given that Thomas made it sound as though they were staying in Los Angeles until they got married and would then return to France, but the fact that they’ve already been sent off indicates that they’re clearing the way for the next big complication.

Yes, the sudser is definitely gearing up for a Hope and Finn dalliance, but that’s only part of the equation. As we mentioned, a summer quadrangle is afoot, with the other half being almost as predictable as the first.

Teasers have Finn warning Liam to “stay in his lane” regarding Steffy, which tells us all we need to know. Just when you thought Tofu Boy was going to focus entirely on being a good dad to his girls, he’s right back in his ex’s orbit.

Given that Steffy just pointed the cops in Sheila’s direction, we’d expect Liam will pop up to defend the move, thus irking Finn. Indeed, if Finn and Steffy experience troubles anew over her accusations regarding her mother-in-law, Bill’s son will be all too eager to chime in and make things worse.

Week’s end has Steffy “setting boundaries” for Hope both at work and with Finn, which is as good an indicator as you’ll ever get as to what comes next. All soap fans know that rules put in place are guaranteed to be broken.

If Finn and Hope draw closer and the writers allow Liam to get wind of it… well, things will really blow up at that point. As we all well know, it’s Soap Messiness 101 for the ex to be lurking in the wings to not only agitate, but to pick up the pieces when the doo-doo hits the fan.

With the focus shifting to Hope and Finn now that Thomas is out of the picture, Liam will be involved and “Steam” will be once again in the air. Steffy, of course, will come to rue the day she sent her brother overseas and set this disastrous chain of events in motion, and her ex-husband will be on hand to console her.