Whip has a crush

Two days later, the doorbell rang at the Belair mansion. Taylor was alone at home. She was surprised, because she wasn't expecting a visitor. She was even more amazed when she saw who was standing at the door. It was Whip, with a bouquet of wildflowers.

"Hello Whip, what a surprise, I wasn't expecting you!"

"Hi Taylor, yeah I was at your practice but your secretary told me you are working at home today. Am I interrupting something?"

"No! Not at all! Please come in." A little uncertain, Whip stepped inside.

"Here, these are for you!" He handed her the flowers.

"Thank you, they are beautiful!" Taylor responded a little shy, while she was taking care of the flowers, Whip looked around curiously.

"Well, it hasn't changed much, still looks the same."

"Well, actually we've made some changes around the house, though not here in the living area. Would you like something to drink?"

"Yes, please!" She handed him a drink and they both sat down.

"I don't mean to seem nosy, but is there a reason for your visit? I guess you didn't come just to see what the house looks like."

"No, I came to say goodbye. I'm flying back to Florida tomorrow morning."

"Oh ok, I hope your business here in LA has been successful."

"Yes, everything went pretty well!"

"Good, I'm happy for you." Taylor was a little nervous; she sensed Whip still had something on his mind. But he didn't quite know how to begin. But then he gathered all his courage.

"I also wanted to tell you something important, but first I have a confession to make. The other day at IL Giardino, I was watching you and Ridge for a while. Honestly I was very stunned when you told me you are married and at first I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. I had to see with my own eyes that you are fine. You know I never trusted Ridge. I always thought he was playing with your feelings, but now I've seen, you guys are truly happy together. It seems he genuinely loves you, obviously he has changed." Taylor nodded in agreement.

"Yes, he has! You can take my word for it, Ridge and I have a very harmonious marriage."

"I've realized that and I'm really happy for you two, more than that it's a relief for me and it helped me to draw the line."

"What do you mean?"

"Over the last few months I often thought about us, our marriage and our breakup. I often wondered if I made the right decision or if I gave up too easily." Taylor interrupted him.

"Whip, you don't have to be sorry, you did the right thing. We both knew our marriage didn't stand a chance. I was just too much of a coward to admit it to myself and I was afraid to be alone again. But I understood why you left and I never held it against you. In the end, it was my fault that our marriage failed."

"Still, I wondered if we could have made it work if I had reacted differently. Moreover, it often gave me a stitch to think you might be miserable for the rest of your life. Because in my eyes it was out of the question that Ridge and you would find each other again." He paused and took a sip of his drink. "But what I really like to say, now that I know for sure that you are happy and content and doing well, I can finally close this chapter and move forward." Taylor smiled back at him.

"I'm glad to hear that. I know I put you through a lot and I want to sincerely apologize to you. It wasn't fair the way I treated you then. I hope you find a woman who appreciates your good qualities and loves you the way you deserve." Suddenly Whip had a dreamy expression on his face.

"Actually, there is someone!"

"Oh yeah, did you find a new victim on the Internet again?"

"No, I quit online dating. But I may have met my dream girl. So far I haven't pursued anything, I didn't want to rush into a new relationship until things between us were still unresolved. But maybe now something can come out of it. We met at work, she is a wonderful woman! We laugh together all the time and she has exactly the same sense of humor as I do."

"That sounds great!"

A short time later, the two said goodbye to each other with a friendly hug.

"I'm glad you stopped by. Our conversation did me good and I wish you all the happiness in the world with your mysterious lady!"

"Thank you! I also wish you that Ridge and you will stay as happy as you are!"

As Taylor closed the door behind her, she sighed contentedly. She felt peace within her. In a good mood, she went back to her work.

Taylor's good mood increased when Ridge came home. She jumped into his arms and greeted him tenderly. Ridge glanced at her affectionately.

"That's the kind of welcome every husband wants when he comes home tired from work. I also brought you something!" He handed her a bouquet of roses, Taylor beamed.

"Oh, they are magnificent, thank you!" She gave him a sweet peck. "What did I do to deserve this or do you have something to tell me?" Ridge acted slightly offended.

"Hey, what do you think of me? I just passed the flower store on my way home and then I remembered, it's been a long time since I bought you some flowers." As Taylor tended to the flowers, Ridge's eyes fell on the other bouquet. "But it looks like I wasn't the first one today with this idea?!"

"Oh well...um...yeah I was going to tell you about this later anyway." Ridge took her by her waist.

"Spill the beans, who's your secret admirer? If he's not bigger and stronger than me, I'll punch him on his nose!" Taylor smirked, she kissed him and tongued his hair.

"Ridge, you realize that you have no reason to be jealous. You're the only one I love!" They sank into a passionate kiss, but Ridge hadn't forgotten about the flowers yet.

"Now tell me, from whom are they?" Taylor was slightly embarrassed.

"They are from Whip and before you get upset..." she quickly added when she noticed Ridge's gaze, "...sit down and let me explain everything!" Ridge took a deep breath, sank down on the couch and accepted the drink Taylor handed him.

"Well, I'm all yours!"

"Whip just stopped by to say goodbye. He's flying back to Florida tomorrow."

"Well that's good news, let's wish him a safe flight then." Ridge was already much more pleased. "But I guess he didn't say goodbye to all his old acquaintances with flowers, if so he left me out!"

"Very funny! Actually he had something very important to tell me."

"Aha, now it's getting interesting!"

Taylor told Ridge in all detail about her conversation with Whip. About his bad conscience he carried around with him for a long time, and that now when he had seen how happy she was, he was finally able to close the chapter of their marriage and look forward.

"Anyway, I am very relieved that we have resolved the situation between us and parted on friendly terms. I wish him the best of luck."

"Yes, I agree with you, as long as you are not his chosen one!"

"Don't be like that Ridge! I know you could never really stand him but Whip has his good aspects and he has many qualities that could please a woman." Ridge screwed up his face contemptuously.

"Well, you have to know!"

"Indeed, even if you don't like to hear it, Whip and I also shared a good time together and in the end it wasn't his fault that our marriage failed. All the time we only had one point of contention in our relationship and that were my feelings for you!"

"Well, I'm an irresistible guy! I'm not easy to forget!" She punched him.

"You're pretty cocky!"

"So what? I can afford to be!" He pulled her back into his arms and softly tickled her with his nose.

"Go away with your charm offensive now!"

"Why? Are you afraid you can't resist?" She tried to go after him again, but he fought her off with a laugh.

"Stop it okay?! You're right, Whip is a great guy and might he find his happiness down in sunny Florida for all I care!"

"Yeah, I mean I haven't thought about him very much since we broke up, but every time I did, I've felt quite guilty for what I've done to him.

"Doc, you didn't do anything to him. He knew what he was getting into when he married you, and after all he made his mistakes too, when I think about the picture.

"Still, I caused him so much pain and I really should have known better. I know from my own experience how painful it is to be married to someone who's secretly in love with someone else. I often feel ashamed for doing the exact same thing to Whip." Ridge gave her a hug.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, you loved him too. Besides, both are responsible when a marriage doesn't work. It's never just one's fault alone."

"You're probably right! In any case, I'm glad he was there and we had a chance to make peace with each other. It helped me too to finally put this chapter behind me and draw a line under it. It feels good."

"I can imagine!" Ridge wrapped her in his arms, and she snuggled up to him.

"By the way, Whip's got a new crush, at least there's one he's got his eye on. He's been raving to me about her, how well they communicate and have the same sense of humor."

"Is that even possible?" Taylor gave him a stern look. "Never mind, let him be happy with his dream girl and if he's lucky, she'll even just say his name in the bedroom." Taylor grabbed a pillow and began to pummel Ridge.

"If you mention this story once more, I won't be calling any names in our bedroom anytime soon!" With a big fat smile, he took the pillow away from her.

"You won't last one night!"

"Try me!" They both started to laugh and wrestled with each other.

Ridge got serious again.

"In some way, I envy you!"

"Why?"

"Because of your resolved relationship with Whip, I wish Brooke and I were on the same track." Taylor took a deep breath. "I hate to spoil your mood, but I'm afraid you can wait a long time for that. After all, both sides have to be ready for this step and as for Brooke..."

"Yeah, I know! It doesn't look like she's ready right now, quite the opposite!" Taylor brightened.

"What's that supposed to mean? What has she cooked up now?"

"Oh it's nothing..." Ridge tried to comfort her, but Taylor kept digging.

"Now tell me! What is she up to?"

"Well I told you about the new museum in Chicago which opens this weekend, it shows the history of fashion."

"Yeah, I remember. You gave Brooke the invitation so she could represent Forrester Creation."

"Right, this morning she came to me and explained something important had come up and she wouldn't make it to Chicago. Her father is supposed to be in town this weekend. Then she suggested I should go, she even took care of the reservations and changed them to my name." Taylor still didn't really understand what Ridge was getting at.

"Does this mean you're flying to the opening now?"

"No, Pam and I figured out it was all a ploy. Pam was suspicious as soon as she heard about Brooke's story, so she did a little spying. It turned out Donna and Katie had no idea that their father was coming to LA. Pam then checked again with the hotel and learned; Brooke didn't cancel her reservation at all, she just made another one for me and arranged everything so we would have shared the same suite." Taylor slowly began to see behind Brooke's new scheme.

"So Brooke tries to whisk you away to Chicago for a weekend alone with her?! I have to say, this woman is really clever!" Her eyes sparkled with anger. Ridge caressed her cheek.

"Don't worry about it. I've already taken care of it. Brooke is in for a big surprise!"

"Why? What is your plan?" Ridge grinned mischievously. "Oh come on, tell me!"

"Well, Pam always wanted to go back to Chicago for a long time and let's face it, she deserves a weekend off!" Taylor started to giggle.

"You didn't…did you?"

"Yes I did, I told Pam to put all my reservations in her name. I'm sure Brooke will be delighted when Pam shows up in Chicago instead of me." Taylor burst out laughing, she just imagined Brooke getting everything ready for a romantic tryst and then suddenly Pam enters the suite. She couldn't contain her laughter at all. The thought was too hilarious.

"I'd love to be a fly on the wall. I hope you told Pam to take pictures. I want to see Brooke's dumb face! Anyway, you did a great job, I'm proud of you!" They sank into a passionate embrace. That's when they heard the front door, in a hurry they broke away from each other and sat up straight again. Thomas stepped closer and gave them a mocking look.

"You don't have to stop on my account, I'll be gone out tonight anyway! I just came home to change and by the way Steffy told me to tell you she won't be at home for dinner either. So feel free to pick up where you left off!" Thomas went upstairs and Taylor dropped back into Ridge's embrace. He played with her hair and mentioned.

"Those two are pretty enterprising lately. They are hardly at home anymore."

"Indeed, but I'm happy for them, you're only young once!"