How do I (32M) navigate this situation with a close friend and coworker (27F)?

We are coworkers from different departments that joined at around the same time (hence we have known each other for ~3 years since onboarding) and work at different roles in the same space.

We vibed very well at work but for a very long time it was just purely professional because she had a boyfriend (I was single and has never been in a romantic relationship) - tbh, I had also developed an interest on her when we first met, but I suppressed that interest upon knowing that she had a boyfriend.

A few months ago, we happened to be on the same bus home (we live along the same bus route so we have always taken the same bus home) when she suddenly told me that she had broken up with her boyfriend. That night, we texted for hours where she told me how her relationship had failed, among other things. Somehow, I instinctively told her that as a very close coworker I will do my best to look out for her at work.

Then things moved… we chatted almost every day during meal break, and texted after work. Initially it was still about work, but then it became more of us sharing our daily lives. We have also asked one another out for lunch / dinner on a few occasions. It all started as us wanting to try a new food spot during one of our lunch chats… and then when we went out, we would talk about where we'd want to dine at next.

As we chatted more frequently, both of us found a lot of similarities between us - from small things such as food preference to life goals and values. One of the reasons that she broke up with her ex was that they could not agree on having kids after marriage, and both of us do not want kids after marriage. On top of that, a lot of our traits complemented each other well - we have strengths that could cover the other person's weaknesses in many aspects. And we also have had gone through similar bad experiences while growing up.

One fine day, we talked about the prospect of dating (again, because of so many similarities and shared ideals among us, and we have also talked about where we conflicted with one another), and she told me that she knew all along that I am interested in her. I admitted and confessed that I am indeed interested in her.

She apologised and said that she has to reject my interests because she had just broken up and felt that she is not ready and not keen to be involved in another romantic relationship for the time being.

However, she said she found a lot of similarities between us and felt that we could have been ideal partners were she not to be in a mess that she's in right now. And then she brought up the prospect of entering a platonic friendship which I agreed.

Somehow, this made us even closer. We have talked and set boundaries, and it turns out that both of us agreed to and are happy with more intimacy than we had before. While at work we are strictly coworkers and we kept things professional while face-to-face (but we're still texting at work when able to as the company allows it). Off-work and outside office, however, we hugged, held hands, and cuddled a lot. By the cultural norms here, this level of physical intimacy would have crossed the boundaries of being friends, but we both agreed that we are comfortable and wanted this level of intimacy.

We have also agreed on how we would resolve conflicts if it happened. For now, we have been checking in every few days on whether there is anything between us that needs to be talked about. We have been able to maintain high levels of intimacy without resorting to sex, and so far there hasn't been any conflicts.

Yesterday, both of us brought up the prospect of datinf again. I do not know if she has truly healed from her previous relationship, and she is also unsure of whether she is ready to commit to a new relationship. We both agreed that we would have been ideal partners and we wanted to be romantically involved, but we both are afraid that we would lose one another if this relationship doesn't work out as expected.

So far our professional relationship is still strong and we have also discussed and agreed that if we enter a relationship, she would ask to be transferred out to a different office or begin looking for a new job - this is her first job after all.

How do I navigate this situation? Is it better to remain at where we are now or is there still a possibility of us to become more romantically involved?