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Maverick worked for his dad\u2019s construction company. Tall, solidly built, with sandy-brown hair and those green eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled\u2014everyone loved calling us the picture-perfect couple.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re so fortunate, Amy,\u201d the school moms would gush during pickup. \u201cThat man is a gem.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd that ring! He must adore you,\u201d they\u2019d say, admiring the simple, lovely diamond he\u2019d spent eight months saving for.<\/p>\n
I believed them. I believed every bit of it.<\/p>\n
Penelope, my maid of honor and best friend since we were seven, was stunning\u2014long black hair, flawless style, the kind of woman people turned to look at. But to me, she was more than that. She was the friend who stayed up with me before exams, who held my hand through ugly cries, who grieved deeply with me when my grandmother passed.<\/p>\n