Is this problematic? 28F, 30M

I (28F) was at a restaurant a couple days ago with my boyfriend (30M) and at the end of it he was asking if I could pay for it (I sometimes do). I said no this time, but then he kept asking and it was while the waitress was there so it was sort of awkward! We normally just split the bill, and that was what I was expecting going in.

I just told the waitress to split it, then afterward I talked to him about it. I was saying how I had just paid for his ticket to this concert we were going to the next day, (which was about 20 bucks) and he said he just felt like he wanted me to pay for dinner more? And I said I didn’t want to because it was pretty expensive (40 bucks each) and he said he knows and that’s why he wanted me to pay for that more! He said it’s sort of a love language for him..

My work contract is finishing soon and I will most likely be unemployed for a while, so I’m trying to save on cash and he’s aware of this..

He said he won’t do it again but I think it’s mainly because he didn’t like my reaction after it happened.

I don’t know, I might be too fixated on this and it might be less of a big deal than it feels?

Tldr: boyfriend repeatedly asked if I could pay for his meal in front of the waitress, felt awkward, he said he won’t do it again, I still feel stuck on it, am I thinking it’s a bigger deal than it is?