He'd barely gotten to the bottom of the stairs before he heard those three little words, and he almost lost his footing from it. Funny how a man so graceful and lithe could almost be sent hurtling down five stairs because of that. He turned around at the bottom and stared up at her, hands gripping the railings of the staircase. "You loving me or me loving you does matter. I won't leave you, Pepper. You'll never have to be alone anymore. I'm sorry he, I, whatever broke your heart, and I know I radically suck at this 'share my feelings' thing. You were always better with that."