If he just doesn't look at her, it makes this easier. The holding hands part. Particularly the moment when her hands curl around his and his seem to catch hers of their own accord. Looking will ruin the moment and he'll be liable to say something horrible just to cover it up.
Even not looking though, his eyebrows shoot up into his hairline at her words. "You'd be the only one to describe me as such," he remarks, not really believing it himself. Sure he put up a good front for the crew, but they weren't around the ship at night when the weight of the universe seemed to sit on him. How to pay for the ship. How to keep them all fed. How to keep them safe. How to stay away from Reavers, Alliance, pirates...