The second he saw her come back, he knew. He knew that he was wrong about the three years. That if you loved someone, you could never get over them. His answer of "absolutely" was so far from the real truth. He didn't know that his feelings were buried deep, hidden from even him then. Yeah, he did love Juliet. He played house with her for three years. He wasn't going to lie to himself, or anyone else, and say that he didn't love her. And sure, he missed her everyday. But with Kate, he had the strongest connection. It played with his heart. Pulled it's strings. Made it dance. In the most literal sense, his heart skipped a beat when he saw her again. Now after they left the island, he hoped they could make up for the last three years of being apart. Three years that they could've spent together, but didn't. Years she spent missing him, and he spent missing her too.