Bella

Bella and Emmett sat on the couch together, staring at the gift wrapped box on the coffee table. She didn't know if this was better or worse than Dr. Muncher's leather bag that had sat there earlier.

Jesus, Lord.

"Well, are we gonna open it?" Emmett said.

Bella considered what the little card said: Just a little something to help the two of you get started. Get started? Something to help develop their intimacy? They'd already tried hugging. What did they want them to do? Play strip poker?

"I don't know. I don't know."

"We don't even know what's inside."

"I know, Emmett, but…I just don't know."

"That's the point. We open it and find out so that we do know."

Bella's cheeks flushed as she felt the weight of the lens watching her…and Sean, the camera man watching the embarrassing saga of this relationship. Was it too late to call the whole thing off? Couldn't a hole just open up and swallow her? She knew that the "gift" from their experts was intended to help them, but now that she thought about it, did she really want their help? Emmett looked hopeful. Was she just being negative? Would she not only be letting not only Emmett down but all of America if she didn't at least try? Why did this have to be so complicated? Why couldn't they just allow the chemistry to come?

"We only have 3 weeks, Bella," Emmett reminded her as though he was reading her mind. "Look. Pressure's off, okay? We open the box, see what's inside, and then we make a decision together if we want to do it or not."

"Do it?"

"Whatever is in the box," he clarified.

"So, what you're saying is that we both don't agree to whatever is inside this box, we don't have to do it? No argument."

"I'm gonna say yes. It's just a suggestion."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Now let's open it."

"Okay, okay. Fine."

Emmett's fingers grasped the red bow but paused. "Oh, do you want to open it?"

Bella chewed the nail of her index finger and shook her head. When Emmett had cleared free the packaging, he pulled out a shiny silver album, and Bella's eyes opened wide. It bore the engraved letters of Our Wedding on the front in fancy cursive.

"Oh, is this our wedding album?" Emmett asked, showing her the cover and then opening it to the first page. The next page showed the singles of Bella in her wedding dress, standing and smiling beside her father as they walked down the aisle, then opposite that one, Emmett standing at the altar with his groomsmen behind him. Emmett had such a smile.

"Oh, look at that," Bella said, turning to a page where her bridesmaids knelt down, surrounding him but his eyes were turned to Bella, who stood alone and to the side. "Wow, you look so handsome."

"Does this surprise you?" he laughed. "And you look very pretty, Bella, just like I said on that first day."

He had said that. Even though she was no Rosalie, he seemed like he was still willing even after all her hesitance.

They flipped the pages together, and Bella found as she browsed the images how natural they looked as a couple, even the kiss, which had been so awkward in the moment seemed so real.

In that moment, she had to consider, if she'd never met Edward, wouldn't Emmett have been, if not the perfect match, a really good one? He was goofy and funny, and attractive and considerate. Even now, he'd been conscious of the fact that this was all awkward and he wasn't taking it personally. Emmett knew he was desirable, and she kicked herself that she wasn't trying harder to make this all work. Though, on these pages it showed a vision of a possibility of her life. It was unlike any life she'd ever thought of, but did that make it bad? No, she'd entered into this, committed to the idea of finding her match,despite being under the watchful eye of thousands. She'd put herself out there, and Emmett McCarty was what the universe delivered to her, as Alice would say. Edward…what was the point in meeting him anyway? Was it just to show her that chemistry was overrated and that maybe relationships that start out that way maybe didn't work out…it had been that way for Bella and Jake - starting off as friends, but then their friendship had been thrashed once they'd entered into a romantic relationship. The point was that she hadn't been attracted to him either but had grown to love him. And then he crushed her heart. Was Emmett going to do the same if she let her guard down? What about Edward? What was that encounter supposed to teach her?

The final page showed Emmett's huge hand covering hers, their rings on display, the symbol of unity and commitment.

What a story these pages told. In that moment, Emmett took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb across her skin. His pale blue eyes burned into her. She'd taken this man for better or for worse. Hadn't he been so gentle and sweet to her? Angela and Jessica, and Renee would think she was crazy. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she just…

"Bella…"

"Yeah," she said, staring into his eyes.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yeah."

"Then kiss me."

"Wait. What?"

"Kiss me. A real kiss. Just like as if you really loved me. Or liked me. And then let's see what happens."

Kiss? Was he joking? He looked serious, the most serious she'd ever seen him.

"I don't think I'm ready for that."

"Look, it's just a kiss. And maybe it can, you know, speed things along. You know, just looking at these pages reminded me of how serious this is. We have a marriage license, we took vows."

Wouldn't everyone be criticizing her for hesitating? Why wasn't she jumping into his lap and attacking her new heroic husband? Emmett wasn't the problem here.

"I…can't, Emmett. Please don't be mad at me. I don't like the pressure. I don't want to feel forced."

He exhaled a sigh. "Okay." He got up, throwing up his hands. "I'm gonna see what we got to eat."

The wedding album lay open on her lap, and she was kicking herself. What was wrong with her? She got up and went to the kitchen and Sean followed her.

"Emmett? If you hadn't seen that album, ever seen me or met me, would you have even considered me? Be honest."

His voice rose, and his cheeks actually were tinged with red. This was the first time he'd actually looked angry with her. Could she blame him? She'd rejected him. His gaze traveled from the floor back to hers. "It doesn't really matter, does it?"

"Aw, come on now. If we were at a bar, or somewhere… and you met me on the street, you would've walked right past me."

"Like I said. We took vows, Bella. We agreed to make this work. To at least try."

"I know. And I am trying, but my emotions don't just turn on and off. I need time, Emmett."

"You know what? Take all the time you need." With that, he stormed out as the door slammed behind him, and she was left with mouth wide open and Sean filming her reaction.

Emmett

Emmett had to get out of there. He really wasn't sure how invested Bella was in all this. He slammed shut the door to his Cherokee, took a breath, and jammed the keys into the ignition, pushing away the bitterness he was feeling. The resistance…her resistance had seemed like too much. Maybe he just needed a minute to cool down. But then Sean appeared onto his driveway and was filming him. This was beyond ridiculous to Emmett, and now, he didn't even care. America would be watching, wouldn't they? And they would just eat up all this juicy drama as he sped away. Hell, he could peel out to add that extra bit of spice to it. But, the truth was, Emmett didn't want that kind of attention. He knew he had taken a chance to be here. He knew that he was putting it all on the line, but why did this have to be so complicated? Would it have been if he'd been matched with someone else? Up until this point he'd refused to believe that the experts had made a mistake. Because he didn't know for sure if they had.

He pulled out of the driveway, flipping off the camera with his right middle finger for good measure. Because it felt good. And while he hoped they didn't air it, he didn't care. Emmett pulled up to his eldest brother's house, the one he always went to for advice. Henry was the one most settled, the wisest and responsible of the 4 McCarty boys. It had taken a lot of nerve to show up here, he knew, because Henry had warned him against doing this. Yet, during the reception, Henry, as well as the rest of them seemed pleased with Bella. It was saying something that he'd shown up at Henry's. Emmett could've gone to Tyler's, the second eldest, who would've told him to screw her and get the divorce already. After all, she wasn't willing to try, was she? Emmett sat in the driveway, facing the faded garage door that as well as the rest of the house needed a new paint job. But once Henry had gotten married and started his family, things had become more lax with his outdoor responsibilities. When the doorbell rang, Shay opened the door with baby Sheila in her arms, and the infant looked up at her uncle with big blue eyes that matched her mother's.

"Emmett! Oh my God. What are you doing here? I thought y'all weren't coming over till tomorrow! Where's Bella?" Shay said in one breath, peeking behind him. Then she began brushing her bangs away, in a fit of self-consciousness. "I wish you'd called first. I'm not camera ready."

"Relax. I'm here to see Henry. No cameras."

Her brows pulled together and she stepped back to let Emmett inside. "Oh…I see. Is everything okay?"

"Not really."

"Ah…I see. Marital issues, heh?"

Shay and Henry had been married for five years, and it had never even occurred that maybe Shay was someone he could talk to.

"You could say that."

She led him to the kitchen and grabbed a Miller Lite with baby still in her arms. "Maybe I can help?"

Emmett ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know, Shay. This whole situation is crazy."

Shay smiled and pointed to the television screen, which had been paused, showing a couple sitting across the table from each other. "I've been binging earlier seasons, Emmett. It's so addictive! It's hard to believe these are real people." She pulled out a beer for herself and with one hand, pulled back the tab and opened the hole. She took a big swig. "It's crazy to think this is what you're going through."

"Oh wow. You and Henry watching this show?"

She laughed. "Not your brother. Just me. He's too sensible for this stuff. If you recall, he tried to talk you out of it."

"So, what's your take?"

"I think that the experts put a lot of work into trying to develop a foundation, and they consider how relationships work and how to make them successful. It seems just about any couple, even the oddest can be happy, if they choose it. But, it takes cooperation even between strangers."

"Interesting. How many episodes have you watched?"

"I'm on season 7 and there've been some humdingers for sure, some characters, but what it comes down to who is willing to work for it and who isn't."

"Were there ever any that just weren't right for each other?"

"Well, see, that's the thing. The experts see who matches on paper. And if nothing else existed, then the rest of it wouldn't be so tricky. So many other factors play into it. Past conditionings, chemistry, whether or not at first sight you even like each other, let alone give one another the chance to go any deeper."

Emmett hung his head. He'd heard this all before and hoped that his sister in law might be able to tell him something helpful. "I don't know, Shay. What if it just isn't there for us?"

"Well, who's deciding that? You or her?"

"Both of us, I think."

"You think?"

"Well yeah. We get along but it seems like there's nothing beyond friendship. She's not attracted to me."

"Ouch. That must hurt."

"Well, it does, but it's not about that."

She pursed her lips. "Isn't it? You and your brothers have never had to work so hard."

"True. But this isn't just a conquest. This is marriage."

"Emmett," she sighed. "Are you attracted to her?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I'm a guy. I can be attracted to anyone. But, I have to say that at this moment I don't find her attractive at all."

"Because she's not attracted to you."

"I don't know. I guess. I think about just grabbing her and kissing her and seeing where it goes, but I don't want to be rapey."

"Ewww…no. Don't be rapey. There's another way, though. Sometimes women are put off by the pursuit. Maybe if you stop pursuiing her…"

"Oh…she'll come to me. Unless she doesn't. We only have a few weeks, you know."

"Then maybe it wasn't meant to be. But you're not going to be the rapey asshole. And if she doesn't try, then it's also on her. Takes two to make a marriage work."

"But the show is pushing us to do things. They expect it."

"Of course they do. But they can't control either of you. Whatever will be will be without any sort of coercion."

Emmett scratched his head. "So let her come to me, you're saying." This was originally what he intended.

"Yes! Absolutely. I mean, don't have any expectations about it, but imagine, if you will, this whole thing is doomed to failure, Emmett…"

"I'm not following."

"If you end up divorcing, you will have a legion of women wanting to marry you."

"Hey maybe I can be the next Bachelor! Haha…no way. I'm so done with reality television. If I never have another camera watching me again, it will be too soon."

"What I mean is that one thing leads to another. If I hadn't dated Tyler and found that he wasn't totally wrong for me, I would never have met Henry who was totally right. Do you follow?"

Emmett had always thought that the brother code had been broken between those two but somehow what she said made sense.

"So, maybe it doesn't work out the way you hoped. Can you be okay with that? That if it does then great. Wonderful, amazing, perfect, but if not, someone even better for you is out there."

Emmett exhaled a breath. "That takes the pressure off, for sure."

"Good. Remember, this is your life. Once the cameras are gone, it's you who has to live with it."

His brows pulled together. "I'm not sure if that's good or bad."

"What if there's no good or bad? Only your perspective of it?"

"Okay, Shay, Shay. I haven't had enough beer to deal with your spiritual philosophies right now."

She giggled. "Okay, okay. Now do you want me to get your brother?"

Emmett waved a hand and then leaned in to kiss his sister in law on the cheek. "Nah. You've actually helped me more than you think."

"Really? So we'll see you at Mom's and Dad's tomorrow night?"

"Yep. And…"

"Don't worry. If there's nothing going on between the two of you, it will be just fine."

He smiled, kissed Sheila on the cheek and said goodbye. For the first time in a long time, Emmett's heart didn't feel tight. Like he didn't have to be this or that. He could just be himself. He wanted Bella to want him after all. And if she never did, he knew it didn't take anything away from him. He had a flash of the knockout - Rose- her surprise party. How was she doing? Were she and Edward happy? Emmett had no doubt that Rose and himself would've hit it off. Shoot, the cameras would've needed to stay very far away. But, he couldn't think of that right now. Right now, he had his own reluctant bride to return to. He made a decision in that moment. He was going to let things be. That's what she asked of him, and for the first time he was going to honor that. Just like Shay said, he didn't have to force anything, didn't have to try to touch her or make advances. He just needed to be himself. And if that worked for them, that was the best he could hope for.

A/N: I meant to send out personal thanks for the reviews because they mean so much to me, but I'm just lacking in time. Thanks so much to you all for reading, I hope you are enjoying the ride, and please stay with me for more. So much gratitude to you all!