It’s been a while since my last top-five list. So, without further ado, here are my top-five declarations of love, in no particular order. Spoilers are ahead, so consider yourself warned.
Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
I couldn’t help but start with Roarke, who falls in love with the brusque and tough Eve Dallas. He is more open than she to falling in love, and he tells her he loves her while they are working on a case.
Roarke had to force himself not to snatch her up as she swept through the hallowed Senate halls. Members of the media were already leaping toward her, but she cut through them as if they weren’t there.
“I like your style, Lieutenant Dallas,” he said when they’d fought their way to the car. “I like it a lot. And by the way, I don’t think I’m in love with you anymore. I know I am.”
Eve tells Roarke she loves him in the next book in the series, Glory in Death.
Over the Edge by Suzanne Brockmann
Sam Starrett and Alyssa Locke have a troubled relationship. When they are together, they often argue, and they haven’t been able to express how they really feel. Sam is the first to share what he feels, and I love the way he does it. It’s so perfectly Sam.
She looked at him. “Are we actually talking about the weather?”
“Yes,” he said. “Yes, we are. I thought I’d start with the fucking weather, maybe touch on what you’ve been up to the past six months, and, shit, work my way up to the conversation I just had with Jules over lunch. See, I had it all figured out that we’d talk for a while, and then I’d bring up your partner. And I’d tell you that I got a chance to talk to him a little and he’s an okay guy, and you’d be like, ‘Jules and you? Wow, Roger, there’s a friendship I never dreamed would happen in a million years.’”
Alyssa had to laugh at his imitation of her. It was pretty accurate, down to her habit of using his given name.
“And I’d say,” he continued, “kind of casually, that Jules and I actually have a whole hell of a lot in common because, you know, we’re, um . . .” He took a deep breath. “See, we’re both in love with you.”
Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
Many readers say that this story is their favorite of Kleypas’s books. I change my mind frequently, but I’d definitely say it’s in the top three. Derek loves Sara desperately, but he doesn’t tell her so, even after they are married. Then his club burns to the ground and he believes Sara is dead. When he sees that she’s alive, everything changes.
“You said you’d never leave me.” He held her as if he feared she would be ripped away from him.
“I’m here now,” she soothed. “I’m right here.”
She brushed her palms over his cold, wet cheeks. He was off-balance, his considerable weight swaying against her. “Have you been drinking?” she murmured, pulling back to look at him. He shook his head, staring at her as if she were a ghost. She wondered how to take away the shattered look in his eyes. . . .
“I love you,” he told her, wiping impatiently at the tears that kept trickling down his face. “I couldn’t say it before. I couldn’t–” He clenched his trembling jaw, trying to control the hot flow of tears. It only made them worse. Giving up, he buried his face in her hair. . . .
“I love you,” he repeated hoarsely, burrowing against her. “I would have given my life to have one more day with you, and tell you that.”
Till Next We Meet by Karen Ranney
Catherine’s husband of one month can’t be bothered to write to her while he’s at war, so his commanding officer, Moncrief, starts writing letters in her husband’s name. When Moncrief marries her after she is widowed, he can’t bring himself to admit the deception. Finally, however, he returns her letters along with a new one:
My dearest Catherine,
I give these [letters] back to you under duress, because while they were originated by you, they have come to give me great comfort. When I was alone in North America, I found they were my lifeline to all things I valued most highly in the world. I read and reread them until I memorized them. I fell in love with the woman who wrote them. That, dearest Catherine, was my greatest mistake.
These last months in your presence have proven to me how limited your letters truly were. They could not convey your laughter, or the sparkle in your eyes when you are amused. They have no way of demonstrating your kindness, or even revealing your irritation, your habit of expressing your annoyance with a roll of your eyes or a look.
I fell in love with your words until I fell in love with you.
That last line is absolutely beautiful.
Seduce Me by Jill Shalvis
I love this book about Jack and Sam in which traditional gender roles are reversed and Sam is the one afraid to commit. She can’t help but be drawn to Jack, though. Their feelings gradually increase until they have this conversation (coincidentally, after a fire burns down Sam’s cafe; what is it with me and post-fire scenes?):
“I’ve never met anyone who’s wanted me so much. And I don’t mean just sexually. I feel like you really just . . . want me. Me.”
“I do,” he said. “Very much.”
“You never really said, you didn’t push–”
Jack shook his head, not sure how to make her understand. “Push? Hell, I could hardly understand the emotions I felt when it came to you. Until last night.” He drew in a ragged breath that didn’t ease the tightness in his chest. “Last night, I drove up here and had a really bad moment when I saw the flames and not you. Last night, I knew. You’re it for me, Sam.”
It’s interesting that all of my favorites are scenes where the hero declares his love. Do you have a favorite scene?
In case you missed them, here are links to the previous top-five lists:
Top Five Sweetest Moments
Top Five Love Scenes
Top Five First Lines
Top Five Scenes That Make Me Cry
Top Five Books I Want Right Now
Top Five Series Romance Covers
Alyssa
May 30th, 2005 by 
Alyssa
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