He just held her, held her close and let himself become support for her in this time. Really, that was all he could do, and it was what she needed right now. Phil's fingers went to brush gently in her hair, and his memory flicked back to a time not so long ago when an embrace like this would have meant something more. Something beyond friendship.
But her distress was about another man, and he had another woman in his life. Both were happy, well, in their respective relationships. Virginia wasn't happy now, and he tried to keep his voice soothing.
"If I had to guess, I would say that Stark's actions were made to protect the one thing, person in this case, that he cared about more than himself." His fingers rubbed her back, gently. "And he's a brilliant man, Virginia. He wouldn't have acted in that way if there was no other solution."
It stung a bit to call Stark brilliant, but Phil checked his own feelings about Tony for the moment. For Virginia's sake.