I get that he didn't hug her cause he thinks he would be taking advantage of her vulnerable state.
But the thing is, embracing someone that approaches you crying is not about taking advantage out of the physical contact, its instead about welcoming the person who put themselves in vulnerable state. It doesn't matter if a man or a woman, a acquaintance or a stranger, a child or an adult, if someone approaches me crying, unless I had stronger reasons to reject that person, I know my instinct would be to embrace back . Been there, done that.
So, at least for me, abstaining from embracing back a romantic interest in a situation as such feels weird, like he is not accepting the vulnerability that she finally showed him after so long.