He just blurted it out like that! What's his problem? How could he? How could he drop this bomb on me at a time like this? I was so happy with Danny. All I wanted was a cup of coffee...

I met Danny at Chilton. He's a dad. A Chilton Dad. He's actually a Chilton dad of one of Rory's friends and that's how I met him. Rory made a friend in her chemistry class, her lab partner. This sweet 16-year- old...named Piper. I went to pick Rory up one day and I saw him standing there...talking to Piper and Rory, and when I went to see her I noticed how amazingly gorgeous he was. They ran off somewhere--Rory and Piper--maybe to get their books? And Danny and I got to talking. We totally clicked! He asked me out and I said yes. We went to dinner and I fell completely in love!

That was six months ago!! And now Luke drops this news on me like it was nothing! He knows how happy I was and he goes and complicates things? I went into the diner with Danny for some coffee and lunch, and when Danny had to run off Luke gets that weird tone in his voice. The kind he had when he talked about Max.

"He seems great," Luke said.

"He is," I said. "He really, really is."

"You guys serious?"

"We've been dating for about six months. Why?"

"No, nothing. Just wondering."

The way Luke said this made me suspicious. "You don't 'just wonder' very often. What's going on. Do you not like him?"

"It's nothing. There's nothing going on. I like him. He's great." "You don't like him," I said sadly.

"You're right, I don't. I don't like him. He's just not the guy for you."

"I am completely in love with Danny! If he's not the guy for me, who is?"

"Me!!!"

There it is. "What?" I was stunned.

"I love you, Lorelai."

I sat there silent for a few seconds, trying to process what had just happened. "What?" I whispered. "I love you." I wanted to cry. This was the first time in my whole life where I wanted to cry when someone told me they loved me for the first time. I knew that that meant something real on my part, as well. But I was still so damn angry! He just messed everything up! Why? "I love you, Luke," I heard myself say, without thinking. I would have thought if it weren't true, wouldn't I have? I jumped on the counter and wrapped my legs around his waist. He kissed me. It was the best kiss I'd ever received. So this is what REAL love feels like. I like it...