disclaimer! this is based on the characterization for the mtv proshot, with lbb and cb's characterisations of elle and emmett, plus jm's direction. possibly not true to other productions.
in my mind (subject to change) emmett has sorta been attracted to elle from the moment they met, not in a strictly romantic sense but more of a "who is this person + what's their deal" (point: his "who is she?" @ warner re:elle first day of class + the entirety, but mostly the start, of chip on my shoulder). Obviously clocks her as physically attractive from the get-go, and possibly that's part of what contributes to his culture shock in their first meeting. feelings somewhat start developing during the course of chip on my shoulder, but not necessarily anything that's actionable. his main priority is still working like a dog up the ranks in callahan's firm and, in terms of his and elle's relationship, to nudge her to her full potential. definitely continues to get culture shock when she starts relating fashion to law, but understands that it's a sorta 'explain this in layman's term' equivalent. possibly gets MORE culture shock ab her getting increasingly comfortably tactile with him, but maybe that's just what girls from malibu do. cares for her as evident of the 2-in-1 shampoo & conditioner despite that being money that could've been saved up, and somewhat (one-sidedly) wary of warner because of what he's seen of his mum and her past relationships. but hey, elle likes the guy, it's not his place to say anything, he's just a tutor-turned-friend. and she's gaining confidence in herself and her capabilities. it's a sight to behold. that, in itself, is plenty enough.
elle, on the other hand. very much in the in-between of 'people underestimate my intelligence because of how i look' and 'people are attracted to me because of how i look'. possibly not above using the latter to her advantage pre-warner (one may wonder how many times she herself has used the bend and snap) but somewhat delegated herself to committed eye-candy trophy wife when she thought the proposal was happening (point: delta nu's little ditty in omigod you guys). very used to people being physically attracted to her (this is potentially straight up her norm) regardless of closeness. unsure if she had a close male friend before emmett. regardless, knows (or infers that) emmett is PHYSICALLY attracted to her (did not deny paulette's "i've seen the way he looks at you" @ her pre bend and snap, even if chronologically this happens After the Realization™), but sees him as a really good friend. there's no mention whatsoever about how the tutoring arrangement came to be, but if we're taking merely what's presented onstage, emmett is helping her out for seemingly no benefit of his own. if this is the case (or, honestly, even if this ISN'T the case) she's definitely appreciative of everything he's done for her, and would keep this debt in her heart forever. in the meantime, her priorities have shifted from warner to herself and her newfound love for law, from her needing to prove herself to warner to proving herself TO HERSELF of the extent of her true capabilities, so obviously: romance is Not On The Table.
THAT IS. OF COURSE. for both their cases. until take it like a man. or, as i'd like to call it, 'elle is mixing up her feelings with objective fact and emmett is getting insane mixed signals'.
(in another world, take it like a man is the opening song of a 15-min romcom musical chocked full of miscommunication, one-sided mooning (from both sides, at different times), and awful timing for character re:feelings but impeccable timing on the humour front)
dialogue pre-song. argument that ends with emmett realizing he's being kind of a dick. elle's easy forgiveness washing everything off like water. "listen, i love your scruffy vibe." — sincerity, sarcasm, words to soften the blow? "books with tattered covers stay on the shelf." so she'd leave him there, too. "you think i haven't been judged my whole life?" her aligning her plight to his, like how he did with her in their first few tutoring sessions? do strangers also see there's something bubbling between them, or is it just a marketing strategy because they're a man and a woman together in a department store?
"here you'll become what you're supposed to be [...] here's your chance to make it, so take it like a man." she's telling him to become the man who already has the title associate in callahan's firm before actually getting it, maybe. the 'dress for the role' approach. telling him he's hot to hype him up, too. but what does 'take it like a man' mean, exactly? is she talking about the makeover? is she telling him to take initiative? is it different from how she followed warner to harvard? how she uprooted her world to be in his eyes again? how she'll do whatever it takes for 'love'? she's picking his tie and tying it for him, she's buying him a suit as thanks for looking to her mind, she's, again, telling him he looks HOT (and maybe inviting the salespeople to say it with her????)??? what is elle telling emmett to do, exactly? what does she want?
meanwhile, in the split second of helping emmett take off the new blazer, elle: "he looks like warner." -> "he's HOT like warner." -> "the outside reflects what's inside." -> "am i... attracted to him... outside..... AND inside........???????????" -> "Not Thinking About That Anymore! ^-^"
emmett rallies up the courage to 'take it like a man' in a way he thought elle Maybe meant, and elle does a graceful dodge. did she know what he was going for? maybe no (solidly categorized him as Friend in her mind as overcorrection to the Realization™, and hence blocking out all romantic connotations to their interactions), maybe yes (possibly has done this in the past as a gentle subtle way of letting past suitors down easy. possibly firmly in the 'emmett is only Physically Attracted to me' camp, and, regardless of her newfound attraction, wants something More, because she deserves more). i personally prefer the latter since it feels more interesting to me, but both are fun.
anyway. re: the love confession in legally blonde. i like the ambiguity of whether elle heard. for me, what matters isn't if she did, but rather, that emmett says it at all. because he was incredulous and skeptical when elle said she came to harvard for love, but now he understands the compulsion, and, actually, he's gonna choose her over what was originally his goal for the past maybe 4 years to help her make things right.
in that final trial, when he passes her that brief. she realizes two things, a. that his feelings run much deeper, and b. that maybe hers do, too. BUT THERE'S NO TIME TO PROCESS BECAUSE THERE'S A TRIAL but it's okay they'll talk about it in the near far vague future. eventually.