True Love?? ?

There is a lot of background to this question so be patient. Since I was 6 months old, I have gone on annual fishing trips to a lodge in Canada (I'm from WI). The owners of the resort have a daughter with whom I've been friends with since basically forever. We have been friends for such a long time and I had a crush on her at one point and I told her, however she just wanted to be friends. This was about 4 or 5 years ago or so. Since then, I believe we have actually grown closer, plus I now travel to the lodge 4 or 5 times a year over the summer. Plus I then went on and tried the dating scene a while, but never connected with anyone. Two springs ago, she was stood up by her prom date and so I offered to take her to her prom the next spring if she would like me to, as a friend. She thought about it and then she invited me to go. I went, we had a great time, but there were some times that just felt weird. For instance, when we were slow-dancing, neither one of us really made eye-contact except for one time and she giggled and looked away. I've never heard her giggle like that before. Anyway, over this last summer we hung out a lot, as much as we could. I really came to realize that I cared for her much more than just as a friend. This feeling was far different than that crush I had on her when I was younger. I truly believe that I love her. So I told her how I felt (not in such strong terms), but she said she would just rather be friends right now, mainly because of the distance between us. She was going to college in Thunder Bay and I was going to Daytona Beach, FL. I respected her decision and we are still great friends. However, I truly love her and the distance is only a temporary hindrance. I'm sure everyone is going to tell me to try to forget about the relationship and all that, but that just is not an option for me at this point. She is the most unique, intelligent, and kindest person I have ever known and she is very important to me. Now for the question. Do I just sit back, enjoy the great friendship we have and maybe wait for her to realize whatever she may realize or what?