Ethan stopped in his tracks, stunned to see them standing in the hall. He had slipped away without waking anyone, hoping to spare them the heaviness of farewells. Too many goodbyes only weighed a man down. Yet there they were, rubbing sleep from their eyes and chasing after him.
"Nora… Dot… Clara… I thought we agreed—no goodbyes. What's this about?"
At his words, Nora and Clara flushed scarlet. Nora bit her lip, then blurted out, "We want to go with you!"
"What?" Ethan blinked, taken aback.
"What, you don't want us?" Clara's voice trembled, sharp with hurt. Her eyes, red-rimmed and glistening, locked onto his face.
Ethan's chest tightened. He knew that look all too well. A modern man, he'd dated before, and he recognized desire when he saw it. One glance at Nora confirmed it; her eyes burned with the same longing, though she tried to hide it.
Only Dot's gaze was clean of such things, though even hers brimmed with reluctance to part.
A wave of mixed emotions hit him.
