"Love" means such different things to different people. I say "I love you" to my husband, my mom, my sister-in-law, my cats and several friends. My husband will say it to me, but not his parents or his sisters or anyone else. Obviously I love my husband differently than I do my cats. But it's the same word.

So you might talk to her about the different kinds of love and realize that some people reserve that word only for certain relationships. Would it be enough if she said "I like you and I care about you?"