Meet Ya at the Altar

8. Bella & Emmett's Reception & Wedding Night

Bella

Jessica appeared out of nowhere, and Bella found her grin obnoxious. "He is so hot, Bella! Wow!"

Then Angela appeared at her other side as Bella had been making her way to get some water while a circle of people she didn't know surrounded her groom. "Yeah! And he seems so nice! What do you think?"

"Emmett is funny. And I think he's kind of sweet too." While they ooohed and aaahed, Bella didn't tell them that despite their reaction to him, she wasn't actually attracted to him.

He did everything right. He was on cue when the DJ called them up to dance, and he even spun her around, which she nearly lost her footing and landed on him. His smile was big as though he was completely satisfied with her. His mother and brothers gave her big, warm hugs. Whenever she fell into deep thought, he nudged her and told her a joke she'd never heard before. They were all funny, and he was so animated when he told them that Bella couldn't help but laugh. Her new husband was easygoing and sweet and from how it seemed, he was just a big teddy bear. And still she found herself wondering: what the hell did she get herself into. She had to leave her phone in the room. There could be no interaction other than what was taking place, so everyone had to be fully present during the reception. She couldn't stop wondering what Alice would think of her new groom. Was this bear of a man who Alice's spirit guides told her she would find here?

How was Alice? How was she getting on with her new husband? It was killing Bella not to know.

"So, an Irish man walks into a bar..." Emmett began, already laughing before he got to the punchline. Bella couldn't help but laugh herself, and those dimples...were too adorable. Emmett was a man that any woman would kill to land. What was Bella's problem?

The DJ called them up for their first dance, and she looped her dress onto her thumb in hopes that it wouldn't trip her as Emmett put his arm around her waist and took her other hand in his.

In real weddings, where the bride and groom knew and loved one another, this was the moment where they stared blissfully into each other's eyes. For Bella, she had trouble keeping eye contact with him.

"Tell me one thing about yourself," he said. "Something you hate."

"Something I hate?" Yikes, she thought. Was that the note he wanted to start on?

"Uh...I don't know. Drivers who don't use their blinkers?"

He smiled. "Okay, that's a start. I hate that too, by the way."

"What else?" she asked, glad he found something for them to talk about besides the fact that they were strangers in a very odd situation.

"I hate people who are fake."

"Fake?"

"Yes. They lie to your face and behave completely differently when they're not around you."

"Right. I don't like that either. But, I've always been raised to keep my opinions to myself."

"You seem very reserved. Your mom, though, she said it would take time. Like a hard egg, you're very tough to crack."

Thanks, Mom. "A hard egg. Haha. Sounds like her." Renee had been so impressed by Bella's hunky new husband, and she found herself now very devoted to their new relationship.

"Give him a chance, Bella," she'd told her. "Maybe he's not your type, but they matched you with him. And he seems very nice. He's a firefighter. The man's a hero, for God's sake!"

A firefighter? Bella remembered being impressed, imagining this brawny man in fire gear and rushing into a burning building. Funny that her mother knew more about him than she did. Renee hadn't spared him the third degree. She had no trouble asking him things that would probably take Bella weeks to find out.