The girl behind the counter | Malachi Barton
After years of living life in the spotlight, Malachi Barton is ready for something different. Moving with his family to a quiet small town gives him exactly what he needed - a chance to slow down, breathe, and just be himself.
Evelyn James has lived in that town her entire life. Between senior year, her Saturday shifts at the local café, and a world she keeps mostly to herself, she's perfectly content staying in the background.
Until Malachi walks through the café doors.
To him, Evelyn is the first person who doesn't see the actor, the fame, or the expectations - she just sees him. To her, he's a guy who's probably bored, passing time, and definitely not serious when he asks her out.
But Malachi doesn't give up.
For months, he keeps showing up, proving that he isn't playing a game and that sometimes the person who feels the most unlikely can become the person who feels the most like home.
A slow-burn small-town romance about finding comfort, letting people in, and discovering that home isn't always a place - sometimes it's a person.