they couldn't wait to meet = no veían la hora de encontrarse
It's a set expression, provided there's a lot of longing or homesickness, and some degree of anxiety backing such eagerness. Otherwise, if some things need to be done or talked, it's "no podían demorar el encontrase".
As for "veían la hora de encontrarse" without the "no" before, I have a hard time finding an example or wrapping my head around it, as it only means some piece of contextual information in the past when the subjects were discussing their common schedule.
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