There is no admission that he initiated things in the opening post or the title. I figured that she just said it at some stage because he was being a really good friend.
"Thanks for putting your umbrella over me when it's raining, you're like a brother to me!"
Or some other nonsense. If he did already ask her already and she said no then I have misread things and retract all my previous ramblings. GIVE UP SHE SAID NO.