You ever get a last-minute invitation to a wedding, and know that you weren’t on the original guest list? Maybe because you never got a save-the-date, and you get the invitation super close to the day of the wedding, and you know some of the other guests and you know that they’ve had their invitations for a while.

That’s not the best feeling in the world, to be on the back-up list like that. Couple it with the fact that even though I do like glitz and glam, I think the wedding industrial complex is getting a bit out of hand. And never mind the fact that I’m a part of that machine.

It doesn’t feel good to be someone’s second or even third choice.

But I just met Liam, so I can’t be mad about having received a last-minute invitation to this party.

“It’s black-tie required,” he explains to me as I sit at the tall island in his kitchen the next morning. “That means a gown. You have one of those?”

He arches an eyebrow at me over his shoulder as he fries up some scrambled tofu and veggie bacon for us. Apparently this guy is also a vegetarian, which is not traditional in the least. I expected him to be all grr-man-meat if and when we would break bread together, but no, animal rights is apparently one of the causes he gets behind. Not, like, the radical or crazy stuff, but just simple, everyday vegetarianism.

“I don’t have a gown of my own, no,” I say as I crane my neck to see what he’s doing over the stove, “but did you see where I work? I’m sure Maggie will be able to let me borrow something.”

“That’s perfect,” he says, scooping some of the fake scrambled eggs and bacon onto two plates. “Ketchup?”

He opens the fridge and grabs a bottle, knocking the door closed with his hip.

“Definitely,” I say. “The more the better. You can’t have eggs without ketchup.”

“Let’s see,” he says, “you’re pretty, you’re kind, you’re smart, and you’re a ketchup enthusiast. Is there anything wrong with you?”

“What’s your favorite brand of ketchup?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him with a smirk. “This is the real question.”

“Well,” he says, “even though I don’t use my kitchen often, I do try to have it stocked with some good breakfast items. And, along with that, I gotta have my Heinz. You a Huntz girl? Oh god, if you’re a Huntz girl, I don’t know if this is going to work.”

“No,” I say as he puts the plate down in front of me, “I have zero brand loyalty to either Heinz or Hutz, or any other brand. It was a trick question.”

“So you’ll just eat any ketchup? You’re a ketchup slut,” he says, sitting down next to me. “That’s sexy.”

I look at my plate, and it’s actually hard to tell there’s no meat on here.

“This looks good, I have to say. And it smells awesome too.”

“Salt. You gotta have salt. And the ketchup of course. That’s what makes it taste so good. And you get used to not having meat.”

“So if you love animals so much, why no pets?”

“I wish I could,” he says, “but I don’t have the time to really take care of my own animal. I’d love to adopt a rescue dog though, once things get a little quieter with work. Though with my father retiring and me wanting a bigger role in the firm, I don’t know when things are going to get quieter.”

“I hear that,” I say. “I always feel like a calm period at work is right around the corner. But then it always feels like it’s the busy season, you know?”

“Absolutely. I imagine with weddings it’s always really busy, even though most people hold the actual event in the springtime.”

“Exactly. During the actual wedding season, we have-last minute alterations, we have fittings, girls coming in for shoes at the last minute. And then in the off-season it’s even more busy, because that’s when the brides are shopping for their gowns and prepping everything. I’ll tell you, it’s crazy.”

I push my tofu eggs around on my plate a little before spearing a few bits onto my fork and taking a bite.

“Well?” Liam says, taking a bite of his crispy veggie bacon. “As good as the real thing?”

The scrambled tofu is hot, smooth and fluffy, and salty, and pairs perfectly with the cold, sweet, tart ketchup.

“Mm,” I manage to say, “I think it might be even better than the real thing.”

“Good,” he replies, taking a sip of his coffee. “I can show you better than real any time, baby.”

And he winks at me.

It’s sexy and silly and just crazy.

And this isn’t what I thought having a boyfriend would be like.

It’s better. It feels natural and easy and the way he kisses me just sweeps me right off my feet.

“So what color gown you think I should go for?” I ask, taking another bite of my scrambled tofu. “Black?”

“If you’d like you can do black. Lots of the women do black for these kinds of weddings. I’ll be wearing a tux and a navy-blue tie, so you could do navy blue instead if you’d like. Or whatever color you want.”

“Anything except white,” I say. “You don’t want to commit the ultimate sin and wear white to a wedding.”

“Unless you’re the bride,” he says smartly.

“Whose wedding is this, anyway? I don’t think you ever told me.”

“It’s my cousin’s wedding,” he says. “He’s actually part of the company too. It’s my dad’s brother’s kid. He’s a nice guy too. I think you’ll like him.”

“And what if I don’t?” I ask. “Do I have to pretend to like him?”

“No way,” he replies. “If you don’t like him, you can roll your eyes when his best man gives him his toast.”

“How about I just play it cool instead?”

“That’s another way to play it,” he says.