The Beard

In all the compounds, in all the oil kingdoms, in all the world, she had to fly in to his.

Myfanwy Lane knows it's crazy to marry her gay best friend, Gavin, and move to an ultra-conservative country for six months. But it's the only way Gavin can be with his fiancé. And it won't all be weird. She's planning on using the time to focus on the thing she loves the most: painting. All she has to do is keep a low profile, and everything will be fine.

Or at least that's what she believes until she realizes how few rights she has outside of her luxurious American compound's tightly guarded walls. Worse, she's surrounded by expats who have nothing better to do than gossip, which becomes a red-hot issue when Myf meets Ethan Locke, an enigmatic Texan engineer who sets more than her creative impulses aflutter.

Ethan has worked half his life in a foreign oil kingdom, and he's determined nothing will get between him and the big payout he's soon due. Growing up in a South Texas trailer park has taught him the value of financial security. But he never counted on the arrival of a bohemian painter lady, or the temptation she presents. 

It doesn't take long for Ethan to realise Myf's marital status isn't what it seems—or for the sparks between them to ignite. But with a camp busybody snooping into their business, and the local authorities taking an interest, Myf's fake marriage is starting to become downright inconvenient.