We can be pretty hard on The Young and the Restless, we know. But it has a whole lot going for it. Great cast. Rich history. And maybe most importantly, loads of potential. At this moment in particular, it has the potential to launch a new supercouple and fill the romance void in Genoa City.

And yes, there is a dearth of romance on the show. Dynamic duos like Adam and Sally are pushed to the backburner. Sharon’s last affair was ended more quickly than it was begun. (Sorry, Chance.) And some pairings generate all the heat of a Christmas-tree light.

But that could all change in a heartbeat. Young & Restless has set us up to expect a Kyle/Claire storyline. But what would that be, really, except for a rehash of Kyle/Summer? In both cases, we’d have an Abbott falling for a Newman. It’s been done.

So what we hope is that the show is planning to throw us, as well as Kyle and Claire, a curveball by having her turn a blind eye to any feelings that she might have for Harrison’s dad. She could reason that too much has gone down between their families as a result of her aunt. If they got involved, it would only serve as a painful reminder of Harrison’s kidnapping.

Instead, as Claire tries to chart her own course in Genoa City, she could strike up a friendship with Fletcher, the new barista at Crimson Lights, where she spends hours trying not to be in her parents’ or grandparents’ way. “Do you ever sleep?” he asks.

“I’m sorry,” she replies, taken aback.

“You drink a lot of coffee,” he observes as he serves her yet another cup.

“Sometimes I have decaf,” she protests playfully, adding when he looks at her like, “Who do you think you’re kidding? I make your coffee,” “OK, fine. Once, I had decaf. You weren’t working that day.”

Fletch seizes the opportunity to hope aloud that Claire notices when he is and isn’t there. He hadn’t imagined it was the scones that kept bringing her in. “They’re kinda dry, right?” Claire admits.

With that, the two of them officially begin a flirtation that naturally culminates in Fletch asking Claire out. “Oh, jeez, you do not want to go out with me,” she laughs.

“No,” he replies, “that’s literally why I asked you out. Because I want to take you out.”

Claire explains that she comes with more baggage than would fit in a jet’s overhead bins. Fletch is undaunted. “This may come as a surprise to you,” he says, “but I, too, have family.”

Fletch is being so kind and cute — just picture one of the fellas above playing him — Claire can’t help but be charmed. She does like the guy. But could she really subject him to… eesh, everything? “Have any of your relatives ever tried to murder the others,” she asks, “or dressed up in Party City costumes to go after them?”
“You mean, besides Uncle Fred?” he answers without missing a beat.

Finally, Claire agrees to go out with Fletcher. Their dates are full of laughter and stolen glances that speak volumes about the attraction that is growing between them. In secret, they become lovers. She doesn’t keep him away from her family because she’s ashamed of him but because he’s the first thing in her life in a very long time that has been just hers. And she’s disinclined to share him.

When Fletch starts to worry that Claire is hiding him because she thinks that he won’t or can’t fit in with her bazillionaire family, she caves and introduces him to her parents and grandparents. No big deal. Until word spreads to Kyle that Claire has a boyfriend. He tells her that he really thought she’d give him a chance eventually, that she just needed some time after what Jordan had put them all through.

“Maybe it was all in my head,” he admits. “I thought there was something between us… or could have been.”

“There was,” Claire admits. “You didn’t imagine it. It’s just… ”

“I never even got to kiss you,” Kyle says, standing close enough to do just that, if only Claire would lean forward. Will she? We’d be on the edge of our seats dying to find out. By then, we’d be in love with the idea of Claire and Fletch, so we’d be torn as hell over the pull we suddenly feel toward her and Kyle.