Major, you’re not going through all this effort just because you’re an officer. [He’s clearly stepping out of his comfort zone by means of this dinner, and they both know it. But he’s also nervous enough about it without Pepper giving him too much of a hard time, so she relents a moment later.] There’s nothing wrong about caring for someone—or people knowing you care about someone.

…Oh dear. [She stifles a laugh as a very clear picture of how that could have gone comes into mind, especially with what else Richard’s just told her.] Yes, I imagine so. It must have been very awkward.