The Carters | ✓

Epilogue - Another One

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Anna's POV

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"Okay, here's what we're going to do. You're going to hide under the bed. I'm going to hide in the closet. He's going to look in there first. Very predictable. When he finds me, I'll distract him and you make a run for it and hide in the kitchen cupboard. He would have already checked in there. Got it?"

My five-year-old stares up at me with wide eyes, nodding.

"What's the plan, Thea?"

"Hide under bed because daddy's dumb. Run and hide in cupboard because daddy's dumb." She says slowly.

I grin. "You're so smart already, baby."

The sound of loud footsteps coming up the stairs has my eyes widening and I quickly push her towards her bed. "Go. Don't make a sound, remember?"

She nods. "I got it, mommy."

When Thea starts crawling under the bed, I turn and rush over to her closet. I pull the door closed as much as I can once I'm inside, leaving a little gap so I can see into my daughter's room.

Not a second later, the bedroom door opens and my husband peeks his head inside, looking around. His face is serious as he scans the room before he slowly steps inside. We take hide and seek very seriously in this household.

I hold my breath as he starts walking towards the closet that I'm hiding in. He's so fúcking predictable. Too soon, he opens the door and I stare up at him with wide eyes. He smirks, raising his eyebrows as he stares down at me.

"Got you, Annie." Liam whispers, a grin forming on his lips.

I sigh, leaning up to hook my arms around his neck and pull him closer to me. "I guess you did. What are you going to do now that you have me?" I raise my eyebrows suggestively.

"Well, I should go looking for my daughter..." He trails off as his eyes drop down when I bite down on my bottom lip, "But I think I'm going to stay here for a bit longer."

I grin, closing the gap between us and pressing my lips against his. He quickly leans into the kiss, his hands gripping my hips tightly. I open an eye and look over his shoulder. I watch as Thea quietly runs out of the room and I have to hold back a smile. Once I know she's gone, I let myself melt into the kiss, running my hands up through Liam's hair.

We spend a good few minutes making out in our daughters room before he forces himself to pull away from me. "You're distracting me, Annie." He says as I continue to press kisses against his lips repeatedly.

"That's kind of the point." I murmur between kisses.

He pulls away properly, staring down at me. "You're a little cheat."

"No one said anything about not using distraction tactics." I shrug. "This is just a smart play."

"She was in here, wasn't she?" He narrows his eyes on me.

I shrug. "Maybe."

He stares a moment longer before raising an eyebrow. "She's in the kitchen cupboard, isn't she?"

I don't say a word, staring up at him defiantly. He smirks before suddenly turning and sprinting out of the room. My eyes widen and I quickly run after him, attempting to keep up with him. But he's much faster than I am, so by the time I reach the kitchen, he's already found Thea. He throws her around and she giggles hysterically. I watch them quietly from the doorway, a small smile slipping onto my lips.