"No, not goodbye." That sounded too final. "I will see you later."

He collected his coat.

"Alec, I--" He took a deep breath. "I don't know if I should even say this now. Or if I have it all wrong, not that I expect you will tell me. But I feel you should know I like you for reasons that have nothing to do with how you look or who you're related to. So you know, in case you didn't."