I don't think that Fred really loved Wesley. I think that she loved him as a friend. And I think that she was attracted to him. But love? No, I don't think so.I think that those five years in Pylea had turned Fred into a person who feared loneliness. She had admitted so to Gunn in "Ground State".
Look how fast she clung to Angel as the love of her life, following her rescue from Pylea. And when he shot down the idea of a romance between them, it didn't take her long to turn to Charles. For nearly a year, he became the "knight-in-shining armor" . . . until "Supersymmestry". After that episode, she turns her attention to Wesley. And why not? He had seemed sympathetic toward her attempt to get revenge on Siedel. And he has revised his interest in her, due to his problems with Lilah, after "Slouching Through Bethlehem". But then, Angelus clicked on her "knight" image of Wes immediately, before revealing Wes' affair with Lilah. Revolted, Fred returned her attention to Charles. But the latter ended up dumping her. She tried to renew her relationship with him again, in "Release". And for the second time, Charles dumped her.
The gang deals with the Jasmine situation and then they join Wolfram and Hart. And Fred becomes attracted to Knox. By this time, the mindwipe has really affected Wes, who has forgotten his conversation with Fred in "Players" and the epiphany he had reached that she wasn't the woman for him. But not only does Fred become disenchanted with Knox, she becomes aware that Wes is in love with her in "Lineage". And within a few episodes, she is chasing after Wes. Only she had forgotten to tell Knox that they were through. I get the feeling that she uses Wes as rebound from a breakup "“ in order to stave off her loneliness. She probably loves him as a friend and finds him attractive. But I don't think that she has ever really loved him.
