I agreee Ann!! And Vrishh mentioned this very nicely elsewhere, but basically, love comes in many types. Romantically involved is not the only one. He could have easily said "Yes I love her," bas, story done, you can assume whatever you want.
He kept sayiing "If supporting her, standing by her side when she needs me, wanting their happiness is Love, then yes I love her" He made it very conditional!! There was no romantic feelings involved in that spiel what.so.ever!! LOL you can say this to your mom, dad, aunt, uncle, cousins, friends, coworkers, neighbors, etc, basically ANYONE. He could have used this dialogue for Robin. All you have to do is change the pronouns from "her" to "his"
This was the only thing said before Abhi slapped him. The purgya story came later.