He hadn't meant it. The pain was like a knife straight to her heart. Of course he hadn't meant it. Why would he? She couldn't even figure out why he liked her, let alone loved her. There wasn't any reason for him to be in love with her. She knew that, so she vaugley wondered why she was so surprised. Still, Bishop knew the chances of her forgetting what he'd said were slim. She'd always remember, and it would always hurt.
Outwardly, there was no indication that she was battling massive heart break. Every emotion was gone from her face and she was sitting perfectly still. Freezing like that was her only defense. If any sliver of anything were to poke through, she'd break down right there in front of him. That was the last thing either of them needed after that unfortunate slip up. For Jace's sake, she'd pretend that it wasn't a big deal. No matter what, she didn't want to ruin what they had. He may not love her, but that didn't mean she didn't love him. She didn't want to lose him over this.
Bishop had opened her mouth to express just that when Jace grabbed her by the shoulders. Surprise replaced the blank mask that she had been wearing. She was so shocked that what he'd said didn't click at first. Once it did, her vision went a little hazy. It wasn't until later that she'd realize that she was crying. At the moment, she was stunned. Her emotions were trying to backpedal, go from the undefinable hurt that she'd felt less than a minute before to the pure elation that she felt now that he'd told her the truth.
"You...you love me?" It still didn't sound right when she said it out loud. Her voice was somewhat shakey, but she managed a smile and a short laugh. She wanted to throw herself into his arms, but she still wasn't sure what she was supposed to be doing. First things first, though. "That's good, since I'm in love with you, too."