You knew.
It’s no big deal to fall in love, really. You could scarcely think of a time when you didn’t experience some form of that silly biochemical mess for someone in your life. It’s not even a big deal to stay in love with someone and more or less mean it; you’ve done that, too.
No, the really tricky part, the Really Big Deal, isn’t just loving someone, but getting them. It’s one thing to say you love someone, and that, yes, you could even see yourself spending the rest of your life with them. Life’s a miserable enough business on your own, and you can do far worse than to go through it with someone you can say that four-letter word to with a straight face.