Falling for my Aqua coworker

Oh how this one creeped up on me.

We've been working together for 4 years now. He's always been friendly, calm and collected, he has a good relationship with my bosses and most people.

In the last year or so we started working on the similar role so we're like each other's side kick. We have similar issues and normally vent to each other (me more often than him lol).

There's no day when we don't talk. He is often busy like I am and we may not chat much, even say hello until later on in the day but we always communicate.

I do feel like we're friends and we have topics to discuss, he's the only person that doesn't annoy me or make me lose my patience, I'm always up for helping him and taking work from him so he isn't so stressed. He often says hello to me in a chat when he's on his way in and we have a bit of a convo. Recently he opened up to me about his feelings about work and how he's considering other options.

We've been telling each other our dating stories and had similar issues. He's a real gentleman and wants a lady who is smart and funny and I want someone like him lol. I haven't really thought I like him that way till I started doing my Xmas shopping and his gift is the first and only one I bought.

I feel like he is trying to draw a line a bit between work and friendship but I recently added him to facey friends then made funny guilt trip comments that he hasn't accepted and he added me lol, since we're friends I'm not afraid to say anything to him. He mentioned he usually doesn't add colleagues but he can always delete me haha. He often asks me about things but does stop replying at times, not when there's a question though. I try not to talk to him on weekends unless I need his opinion on social matters and he seems happy to help.

Because he's quite busy work wise and socially wise he's never accepting my drink offers, which I don't often give him and usually in a funny manner of I have asked everyone and they're busy,maybe you're available kind of question🙂

Anyway please help me fellow aquarians,how do I tell if this is just a friendship or he is interested in me as a woman. And how do I interest him? What kind of traits they like and what makes them scratch you off the list?

Thank you friends ?

To be clear I haven't thought about him in a more than friends way till very recent so me asking him for a drink was always in friends only way. I'm only starting to realise I might have feelings for him and considering we both work together I won't do it unless I think he thinks about me like that too.