Crossword Genius

Love notes, three of them (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

adore

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'love' is the definition.
(adoring is a kind of loving)

'notes three of them' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'notes' could be 'ad' (two musical notes) and 'ad' is found in the answer.
'of' could be 'o' and 'o' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 're' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for adore that I've seen before include "Respect deeply" , "Love greatly" , "Treasure" , "Worship, idolise" , "Love, worship" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times and The Sunday Times.
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