A/N: Hi there and I wanted to state that most of these events take place in parts, so these first two were part 1 and we will revisit them.

Wedding 2

Though her dad linked his arm through Bella's, Charlie raised a brow at his only daughter, as though the obvious doubt on his face was going to change her mind. He knew better, but being her father, Bella supposed he had to try. "I don't care about the contract, Bells. We can figure a way out of it."

Trust the process.

Bella wanted to echo those words to him. Angela, the experts, the producers, hell, even her makeup and hair gal said those words as she fidgeted in the chair just a little while before. She wanted to believe those were words she could believe in.

She just had to trust.

The wedding march began, and she inhaled and exhaled, as Angela floated down the aisle, followed by Jessica, who wasn't really her friend but was enthusiastically supporting of her being on television - probably because that meant Jessica got to be on TV as well. And though Angela, serving as her maid of honor, doing justice to the pink gown Bella had half-heartedly chosen with her help, was nice enough and they shared a love for reading and enjoyed each other's company from time to time, Bella wished Alice were there. She had barely received more than a text about her own nuptials.

All is well.

Alice had sent that along with a smiling emoji. Alice and Bella both understood the conditions of their being here. Their texts were monitored to ensure the integrity of the experiment. In fact, Bella was still amused that they referred to this process as a "social experiment." Except they weren't rats in a maze; they were humans with feelings and thoughts and emotions. With hearts and pasts and hopes and dreams.

Please be him, she thought as they made their way down the aisle. Her groom wasn't at the altar yet, which the show planned for effect. Absolutely no peeking, the producer had told them, so it would be 100 percent surprise. That was okay by Bella, as long as she was surprised in a good way.

Please let it be him. From the bar and the garden. Please, oh God, if you truly exist, let the man who has agreed to be such an important part of my life be the same who kissed me.

Not once in all the time she and Jake had been together had Bella ever felt it all the way to her toes.

She knew she had no right to ask or hope. She'd signed away her consent for the show to match her with whomever they judged as a good match for her. But if it could be him…

It was just a fling…if one could call it that…like Alice said. Didn't mean a thing. And it probably didn't to him. No, she thought, he probably went to one of the other conferences and was now settled back at his home in Pasadena, living his Pasadena life, not feeling out of place at all like she did.

By some miracle, she didn't trip over her dress on her descent. Her two bridesmaids took their places to the left of the minister. At once, her groom appeared, dressed in a gray tuxedo, a pink rose boutonniere on his lapel, followed by two groomsmen. Strangers. All of them.

He was not the man from the garden, and she quelled the wave of disappointment, urging herself not to let the cameras or her groom see what her heart was feeling. His dark brown hair had a hint of curl to it, a hard contrast to the bronze-tint in the other man's hair.

This man was tall, like he belonged on a basketball court or played football…or fought evil villains and saved the universe on a regular basis. Muscular, evidenced by the broad shoulders, this man was more like a lumberjack. His warm smile gave way to dimples that peeked out from his cheeks. They gave him a boyish quality - a kind face, with a hint of mischief. Her new husband, she could tell, had been around the block. He stood, meeting her eyes with an air of confidence, like he had all the faith this was going to work out.

This big man approached Bella and her father and held out his hand to Charlie, who didn't let go of his daughter at first but then reached out and shook his hand. Charlie then darted a look to Bella, one that said, just say the word.

She smiled to her dad and gestured for him to take a seat beside her mom and stepdad. Bella didn't even consider her mother's reaction and brushed aside what she might be thinking.

Her groom took Bella's hand in his, which seemed huge and ran his thumb along her skin. His woodsy scent gave him that rough, outdoorsy effect, and shoot, she could definitely do worse, she thought, as they made their way to the minister.

"We are gathered here today…" the mustached minister began, and her gaze drifted back to the man beside her, wondering how it was that he ended up here. He held that brawny appeal that most women loved.

His eyes were a pale blue and he towered over her. What did he do for a living anyway? Yes, she had to focus on him and release the idea of the wish she'd foolishly let herself make. This man here was flesh and blood and here for the same reason as she. They had both signed up for this. There must have been something in their backgrounds or preferences that put the two of them together.

"It is my pleasure," the minister said, "to introduce you, Emmett, to your bride, Bella. Is there anything you would like to say to her?"

He was grinning. It seemed he didn't hear the minister's voice at first, but then he finally spoke, "You're pretty."

The words were flattering, especially since a man who looked the way he did said them, but all she could respond was with a lame thank you.

The minister paused for a moment, as they waited to see if there was anything else Emmett wanted to add. The minister opened his mouth to speak when Emmett spoke again.

"Thank you for being here."

That summed it up. He was grateful Bella was here, which made her think. She must have been acceptable enough in his eyes that he thought expressing thanks was appropriate.

"Thank you," she said, which seemed like a painfully strained reply. Please continue, Mr. Minister. Could a marriage between two strangers be any more awkward?

To Emmett, she would do. No, she wasn't the hot babe he'd hoped for, but in general, the hot babes weren't the marrying types. And he'd told them on the application he'd preferred blondes but also dated many brunettes.

Bella had a nice face, brown eyes, and brown hair from what he could tell from the way the curls hung a few inches past her shoulders. She wore this perfume that reminded him of flowers. Lace covered her chest and neck and the long sleeves offered no hint of bare skin. This woman was not showy, and from all the women he'd dated, Bella was not out here to turn heads. Yes, she was definitely wife material. He'd sensed his mom's Irish catholic approval from the side of the room. His brothers, who were already married, thought he was crazy, but maybe meeting Bella would change their minds. If not passive, she seemed agreeable. Like when the minister announced for him to kiss his bride, it was more like a peck than anything. Bella had to be nervous - he knew he was and with the cameras staring at them, who could blame her? Hell, there was time for that. Plenty of time for her to kiss him for real and that was what Emmett wanted. This kiss was for show, and they'd been warned that previous brides had even turned their cheeks to their grooms, which, to Emmett, was the most obvious rejection. Bella hadn't rejected him.

When the minister announced "man and wife" Emmett took her tiny hand in his, and they walked down the aisle, smiling as he held up their hands and gave the producers what they wanted to see. How did she really feel? She didn't look too pleased. Emmett wasn't worried about it.

He took her away from the cameras to a side room and locked the door behind them. With bouquet still in hand, Bella edged to the back of the room, and her eyes darted away toward the door. "I think they're expecting us…out there."

Two small tables with floral arrangements flanked the background for the show, with 2 stools in front, and he gestured her toward an end table against the other side of the wall and unfolded two of the chairs sitting there.

"They can give us a few minutes to get to know one another."

"Okay," she said, though, looking a little apprehensive.

Emmett had to do something to ease her mind because he couldn't have his bride hiding from him throughout their reception. "Pick a number from 1 to 10."

This caught her off guard. Her brows drew together. "What? Why?"

"If you pick the number I'm thinking of, we talk about something you're interested in. If not, we talk about something I like."

"How is that fair?"

"I imagine we have 10 minutes without cameras - at most. Do you want to spend it questioning fairness?"

"I guess not."

"Okay then."

He actually had no clue what the hell he was doing, but at least she was game.

"4," she guessed.

"Is that your favorite number?"

"No. Is it yours?"

"No."

"Oh. Okay…what is your favorite number?"

"3."

"Then why didn't you say it?"

She blinked, like she was confused. Not nervous. Not weary. Maybe he was getting closer to breaking that big block of ice between them. "I don't know. I just chose the first number that came to my head."

"My number is 6."

"That's still not fair. What if your number was 4 but you just want to have your turn first?"

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not."

"Okay, my turn. Do you offend easily?"

When the knock at the door interrupted him a little while later, she was giggling and her brown eyes were looking at him with a mix of shock and a bit of awe. He had used the ultimate ice breaker. He told her as many jokes as he could think of until the producer's voice informed them they had to leave. It was definitely less than ten minutes.

"Shall we, Mrs. McCarty?" he asked her, holding his hand out to hers.

Bella was smiling and she took a breath, her face falling into a mask of anxiety once more.

"Hey. Trust the process?" Emmett asked.

She laid her hand in his palm. When he closed his hand around hers, the pad of his index finger met the stone on her ring finger with the contact. This was when it hit him. This was for real, and for some reason, it wasn't the wedding dress or the flowers or the minister that asked them if they agreed to love and honor and cherish each other that made this all real. It was the ring.

Bella nodded then. "I will."

A/N: Before ya hate, yes, I did say canon couples, and I hope you will trust my process as my stories are slow-burn and stay with me to see how it unfolds. Thanks so, so much for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you!