Falling in love with my late husbands best friend. What should I do?

***update because a lot of you are asking, it’s been a little over a year

I (28F) lost my husband (32m) to suicide. He left behind me and our at the time 14month old daughter. It was very unexpected with no history of mental health or anything. It was traumatic to say the least. I’ve been seeing a therapist since it happened and although I know the grief will always be there its not nearly as heavy anymore. I feel as if I’m in a pretty good place with it mentally. He made the choice he did and I don’t deserve to live the rest of my life suffering from his decision.

My late husband had a very close knit group of friends that grew up together. We’d all hang out often, go on trips etc. Since his passing they’ve been very supportive and I actually think we’re all even closer now in our shared grief. One of these friends (31m) is not married and doesn’t have kids so he’s been more available to help out with things. As times gone on, we’ve grown pretty close and text daily. He’s funny and kind and he makes me smile.

Him and my lh had a lot in common in terms of interests but they’re also very different personality wise. He brings a sense of calm and understanding that I never really felt with my LH. He’s also wonderful with my daughter and always has been. So was my LH. Before he passed my LH would always say this friend needed to find a girl and get married because he’d be a great dad. I think we’ve both had some feelings for each other for awhile now but have danced around the subject. He finally just came out and said it the other day and asked if I felt it too. We talked about it and both really enjoy each other but are afraid of how it may look. Neither of us want to rush into anything but we both see potential for a future. I want to give my daughter a father figure one day and some siblings and I know the older she gets the harder it will be to introduce someone. The idea of trusting anyone with her is hard and I trust him fully. Beyond that we can talk about my lh without it being awkward or upsetting and he understands my emotions because he’s grieving too.

I personally feel like as much as I loved my lh he made that decision to leave and I have to move forward and find happiness again for myself and my daughter. It just feels right with him. We connect on so many levels and I already trust him. I also love that he has memories of him that he can share with our daughter. That being said, we both feel a little guilty for feeling this way. Our biggest setback is worrying about others reactions. Particularly his other friends and my in laws. I know this doesn’t look great from an outsiders perspective. How should we proceed?