Two confessions!

Ridge learned little about what had transpired between Stephanie and Taylor. His mother said only Taylor had clarified some unpleasant truths to her that made her think. Taylor explained, it was good to get everything off her chest for once. However, it was up in the air for her how she should deal with Stephanie in the future. A few days later, Ridge told Taylor, her words seemed to have made a big impression on his mother, because after her visit she had asked him only once if he had seen her. Both laughed.

Taylor was sitting on the couch,she was in a sad mood. Today was Steffy's birthday. Taylor had invited her to celebrate the day together, but Steffy had decided she would rather spend the day with some friends in Las Vegas. So Taylor could only talk to Steffy on the phone via video chat and wish her a happy birthday. Susan stopped by with a bouquet of flowers. Taylor was amazed at first and said it wasn't her birthday after all, but Susan replied, in her family it was customary to give the mother flowers on that day.

"It was you, who were in labor." Taylor smiled.

"Well, it really wasn't one of my most relaxing days. That's for sure!" Susan noticed Taylor's sadness.

"Are you upset that Steffy didn't want to come, preferring instead to go crazy with some people in Las Vegas?"

"Oh actually, I almost expected it. In the last years Steffy always spent her birthday somewhere in the world with friends. She's just out of the age where you want to celebrate with your family."

"Well that's life!" Susan had a feeling Steffy's absence wasn't the only reason for Taylor's distress. She could see she had obviously been crying. There was a family album on the coffee table. All at once Susan knew what was going on. There were pictures of a birthday party with two blond girls wearing birthday crowns. Comforting, she took her friend in her arms.

"It's not easy to celebrate only one birthday today?!" Taylor nodded silently, wiping away some tears.

"It's weird, it's not like I don't think about Phoebe every day, but in everyday life you kind of manage to deal with it. You learn to live with this gap, you don't have a choice and then on a day like the birthday all comes back. Like it was just yesterday." Susan nodded sympathetically; she had four children and couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose one of her babies. Taylor walked out onto the terrace.

"I always wonder what it would be like if she were still with us. Sometimes I believe the only reason Steffy always spends her birthday somewhere else is because with all of us together, the loss would be more apparent to her. She probably needs to distract herself on that day."

"It's certainly tough for her, I mean they were twins."

"Yes, as they are in the book. Even though they weren't always together and each ended up going her own way, they were basically inseparable. As little kids, they always slept in the same bed, arms wrapped tightly around each other." Taylor fought back another flood of tears. "Please don't be mad at me, but I'd rather be alone right now!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, really! It has nothing to do with you."

"I get it, but if you need me, one phone call and I'll be right there!" Susan was about to leave the apartment and head out the door when Ridge, also with flowers and two balloons, crossed her way. You could tell by the look on his face that he felt the same way as Taylor did. She pointed with a finger toward the terrace.

"She's out there, she actually just sent me away, but maybe she wants to see you." Unsure, Ridge approached Taylor.

"Hey! Susan just told me you preferred to be alone. I hope you'll make an exception for me!"

"Ridge?!" Taylor was stunned yet glad to see him. Wordlessly, the two embraced. There was no need to say anything, each knew how the other felt. Ridge handed her the flowers.

"To the woman who gave me two beautiful girls!"

"Thank you! But you did your part, too." For a while, they looked up at the sky in silence. Finally it burst out of her.

"I wish I could tell her today how much I love her and how proud I am for all she has accomplished in her life."

"There is a way to tell her all this.'' Taylor looked at him uncomprehendingly. He went into the house and returned a moment later with the two balloons. "Let's each write a letter and we'll send them to her." Taylor now understood what he was trying to do. She picked up two sheets as well as two pens and a small box. They each wrote a few lines to their daughter, then put both letters into the box and tied the balloons around the box. Before they let them fly, Taylor stopped again. She had an idea, she picked up her laptop.

"Remember that song Phoebe wrote for you and wanted to sing that night. She knew I wouldn't be at the party, so she recorded it for me. A little while later, Phoebe's vocals rang through the air. Ridge took her in his arms and to the sounds of Phoebe's song, they sent the balloons to the sky. As they watched them go, they let their tears flow. It was a sad but also peaceful moment and they both felt they were close to their daughter.

Later, they sat together, thumbing through the photo album. The kids had put it together after Taylor had returned. They laughed as they walked back down memory lane. They thought about the many times the girls had gotten into trouble.

"Remember when they were learning to crawl and they were always dashing off in different directions and we were busy all day trying to catch them."

"Yeah right and Phoebe was the worst, she was always crawling everywhere until she got stuck somewhere and screaming at the top of her voice for us to free her."

"True and I had a crisis when they started cleaning out the drawers and Steffy was climbing all over the place."

"Oh yeah, actually it's a miracle nothing ever happened." They looked at more pictures. Many photos were from the time when Taylor had not been with her family. Ridge went to great lengths to tell her about all the incidents. Taylor had prepared 'mac and cheese' for dinner, one of Steffy and Phoebe's favorite dishes. Ridge, who had stayed for dinner, said afterwards.

"Still tastes as good as ever." After dinner, they made popcorn and watched 'Dumbo', Phoebe's favorite movie. It was getting late before he finally said goodbye.

"Thank you for coming. It made me feel good, the day would have been awful alone and I don't think I could have spent it with anyone else."

"I feel the same way. I'm glad I got to stay." They hugged each other tightly as they said goodbye.

Over the next few weeks, Taylor and Ridge became inseparable without even realizing it. A solid circle of friends had formed around them. It consisted of Susan, her friend Stacy, Rosa and her husband, Marc and Steven, and the two of them. They all got together to go bowling, play sports, or just spend the evenings together. In addition doing things together with their friends, Taylor and Ridge now saw each other even more often on their own for joint activities. Susan was already slightly displeased because Taylor spent more time on the weekends with Ridge instead of with her. One evening, the entire clique met again at their favorite restaurant. This time Susan had her brother and his wife with her, who had come for a visit. Ridge and Taylor were the last to arrive.

"Sorry, we're late, but it's not my fault, Taylor took forever to finally get ready and then on top of that she couldn't find her key." Taylor glared dangerously at him.

"Oh yeah, and who just said in the car that he knew the perfect shortcut, which landed us in the middle of nowhere. If it wasn't for me, you'd still be cruising around right now." Everyone laughed, they knew by now the special way the two of them dealt with each other. They were teasing each other all the time. Susan's brother was very curious to meet Taylor. His sister had told him a lot about her new best friend. However, he was very irritated watching Taylor and Ridge together. Susan had told them the two had been divorced for years and had two grown-up children together. Ridge and Taylor were dancing together when he tapped his sister on the shoulder.

"Say those two, you're not seriously telling me they're just divorced."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, just look at them. Not a sheet of paper would fit between them. I know quite a few divorced people, and I have never witnessed something like that." Susan looked over to the dance floor, the two were indeed dancing very close and intimate with each other. "And anyway have you ever observed how they interact with each other, if you hadn't told me, I would have guessed they were married." Susan became very thoughtful. She had never noticed the intimacy between them before. To her, it had just been normal. Taylor had mentioned to her they had always had a very special bond. Throughout the rest of the evening, Susan kept a closer eye on her friends. While they were all chatting together, Taylor had her head leaning against Ridge's shoulder while he had his arm around her.

Her brother and his wife had long left, when Susan decided to gather all her courage and approach Taylor on the sensitive subject.

"Well did your brother and sister-in-law get off all right?"

"Yeah, they're fine.."

"Great, it was a very nice evening the other night. Those two are really great people."

"They enjoyed it too, just...to be honest, they were a little confused about Ridge and you."

"Because of us? Why?"

"Well, I told them a lot about you, and of course I mentioned Ridge. That you two have been divorced for years and have kids together, just the usual stuff."

"Yeah, so?"

"My brother said the way you two interact with each other, he would have guessed you were married."

"What?" Taylor choked on her tea and began to cough. "What makes him think we are married? Ridge and I are just good friends, you know that, and we're on normal friendly terms." Susan gave her a very skeptical stare.

"So don't take offense, but your interactions are very special."

"In what way?"

"It's never really struck me, but now that he's brought it to my attention, I've been thinking about a few things. For example, you guys always show up together and no matter what we're doing, whether it's bowling, tennis, squash or whatever, you two always form a team right away. And the other night, without asking you ordered each other drinks or food. At the starters, you ate all his black olives while he kept stealing the carrots off your plate. Then your way of constantly sticking together. When you're dancing or you're sitting there cuddled in his arms all night. Not even Rosa and her spouse or Marc and Steven are that inseparable. I'm not trying to attack you or reproach you, it's your business, I just noticed it." Taylor had gone quiet during Susan's speech. Silently, she looked down at the floor and tried to hide her face. Her hands played nervously with her cup. "And then there are all the other small things. I know for a fact that if you have a lunch date with someone else, you'll bring him a lunch package so he'll have something to eat. Then the way you look at him sometimes, and the other day when that one attractive woman was flirting with Ridge, you should have seen the look on your face. It's a wonder that girl didn't drop dead instantly." Taylor was very embarrassed now. She sighed, sheepishly asking.

"Is it really that obvious?" Susan looked at Taylor in amazement and amusement. She had expected fierce resistance not resignation.

"So that means it's true? You've actually developed feelings for him again?" Taylor buried her face in her arms and just nodded.

"Wow!" Susan was surprised at Taylor's confession. Taylor gradually regained her composure. She was glad it was out and she could talk to someone about it.

"I don't know when or how it happened, but yes, I think I've fallen in love with him again. I swore it wouldn't happen to me again, but it just happened over time. In the beginning we were really just good friends, I was happy that he was there. We can always talk so well and we have so much fun together and it's just nice to spend time with him. I feel so comfortable around him and since he's been here, he has such a caring and thoughtful nature. He makes me feel alive and he is still able to sweep me off my feets. And all his small gestures. When he calls me to wish me a nice day or when we are texting each other funny messages during a boring work day. He is the perfect gentleman when we go out for dinner, giving me the feeling I am the most precious woman in the world. We have known each other for so many years, it's just so easy going. There is no awkwardness. We can tease and mock each other… "

"Oh my gosh!" You really have a crush on him! I take it Ridge doesn't have a clue?!"

"Of course not and I'm warning you! One word and you can talk to the fishes in the future!" Taylor implored Susan with her gaze. The latter raised her hand to swear.

"I won't breathe a word, I promise! But why don't you tell him?" Taylor made a startled face.

"I can't! I don't know how he feels about me. I don't want to pressure him. I think if he loves me too, he should make the first move."

"Well, I hope he doesn't expect the same from you. After all, you were the one who didn't want any contact to begin with. What if he's just as reluctant to approach you."

"Still, I've ruined things far too often in the past by overwhelming him with my feelings and putting too much pressure on him. I just don't want to make the same mistakes again. You can't force love, if it's meant to be, it will happen. I am sure of that. Even if it doesn't, I'm also happy with the way things are now. Everything will work out, for sure."

A few days later, a similar conversation took place at the Forrester Boutique. Ridge was sitting at his desk studying financial statements. After initial teething problems, the store seemed to be doing better. At any rate, the latest numbers looked very promising. His eyes fell on a small plush pig Taylor had given him a few days ago. Ridge had been depressed because the store hadn't yet had the upswing he had hoped for, so she handed him the little lucky charm to cheer him up. He looked at the picture that was next to the little pig. It showed him with Taylor, Thomas and Steffy. He took it in his hand. Objectively, they looked like a happy family. Rosa came into the office with some papers. She spotted the photo in his hand.

"Your kids really look like you. Thomas has a lot of you and Steffy looks just like Taylor."

"Yeah, that's what everyone says. Whereas from their characters it's more the other way around. Thomas is more like Taylor and Steffy is more like me in her manner."

"Well, so each of them has something of both of you. I think it's very remarkable that they've both followed in your footsteps. That's quite extraordinary."

"Yeah I'm very happy about it and very proud of both of them." It's nice to know that the company will stay in the family. Even though sometimes it's not so easy for family members to also work with each other and being boss and father at the same time. But that's what we have Taylor for, she's always our calm rock."

"Mhm! When are you actually going to tell your 'calm rock' how you feel about her?"

"Excuse me?" Ridge looked at her uncomprehendingly. Rosa, on the other hand, just raised her eyebrows meaningfully.

"Now don't fool me Ridge. I do have eyes and I'm not blind! All this talk about you being just friends and all. That may have been true in the past, but it's long past that now." Ridge made a face as if she had caught him in the act. "I mean, it's pretty obvious the way you guys feel for each other. You should see your eyes when she walks into the room. Plus, I know that when she works from home, you have lunches delivered for her, and all those flowers you've been ordering lately have certainly all ended up at her place. Don't think I haven't noticed that every time anyone approaches our table, you pull her even tighter to make sure no one dares to get near her." Ridge grinned sheepishly. He was embarrassed that she had seen through him. He didn't even make an attempt to deny it. "So what are you waiting for? Show her how you really feel about her."

"It's not that easy! I admit it, I have deep feelings for her and yes, I love her. But things are harder than you think. We have a very complicated past and I've hurt her very badly more than once. I just don't want to do anything wrong. Besides, I don't know if she feels the same way about me. After all, she told me she no longer has any romantic feelings for me."

"That was months ago. That was when you guys just started talking again. How do you know that hasn't changed?"

"Even if it has, I have to be careful. Otherwise, I'll scare her off. I have to prove to her that she can trust me and that I'm serious."

"Are you serious?" Ridge thought for a moment, then nodded with conviction.

"I've never been that serious before. I don't think I've realized what a wonderful and unique person she is until the last few months. Thanks to her, I have experienced life again from the beautiful and cheerful side. She always manages to cheer me up and make me see the positive. I can't remember the last time I laughed as much as I have in the past few months. I want to be with her all the time. I miss her when she's not around. No one understands me like she does. I sometimes feel like she knows me better than I know myself, and not just because she's a psychiatrist. We have an understanding, I can't explain, it's just there. Besides, there is something new about her that got me. Taylor was always the strong, confident part in our relationship. She tried everything to give me the feeling of safety and stability. She still is that person, but also in the last few weeks, there were also moments where she showed her vulnerability to me and it felt great to be the one she could rely on. Now I have this infinite desire to be the strong shoulder to lean on. I want to put a smile on her face every day.."

Rosa smiled to herself as she listened to his gushing.

"I have no doubts that your feelings for her are sincere and if you really want to, you'll convince Taylor too."