Starbuck looked into her eyes. "And I would never treat you the way he did." Nothing in the world could drive him to cheat on Kim. She was everything he wanted and more. He barely noticed other women, because they all paled in comparison to her. Especially in moments like this. She softened a little, made herself vulnerable to him, and he felt her trust in those moments.
Kim's assumptions were more than valid. She tensed up again, and it made him doubt his decision to tell her, but he had to get it out. Holding it in wasn't going to serve any purpose but to drive him crazy. If she ran away from hearing it, then she ran away... just as she would probably do later if he held it in forever before spilling his guts. He'd rather do it now. In some ways it was like ripping off a bandage, except he didn't feel any pain, just fear.
Her heart was beating hard enough that he could hear it. And then she started shaking. She looked as though she was about to break down into tears, and then she did cry a little, but he wasn't sure if it was a good tear or a bad tear. IT WAS RIPPING HIM UP!
He put his palm to her cheek and pushed away the moisture that had run down her face, careful not to let the splints on his fingers scratch her. He had a million things running through his mind, but the biggest of them was a huge question... did she love him too? He couldn't ask her that though. It had to be offered freely without request.
When no immediate reply was offered, he realized it wasn't coming anytime soon. But she wasn't running away, and she wasn't avoiding looking at him, and she was touching him... those were good signs, right? He leaned in and kissed her, his hand getting a little tangled in her hair because of the damn splints, but he hoped she didn't mind. He just needed her close to him.