My boyfriend (32M) and I (42F) have been dating for 7 months. He is a high functioning autistic (in the form of Asperger’s). At times it can be an issue for me b/c he does have minor trouble picking up on social/emotional cues which can occasionally lead to me questioning his feelings for me. For this reason, I was initially hesitant to get serious with him… as well as b/c of the age difference and distance (2.5 hours driving distance). But we’ve grown really close and have a deep connection. We’ve both gone through a tough childhood and difficult times well into adulthood also. We’re both in therapy and have a healthy relationship and communication style with each other. We’re very supportive of each other.
Anyway, he was the first to ask to be exclusive but it did take me 5 months to finally feel comfortable to go all in. We’ve gotten even closer and I felt ready to say “I love you” to him at 7 months. I told him he didn’t need to say it back until he was read. He said it made him happy to hear that I love him. He also asked me to describe what it means to me to be in love, which I did explain to him. And he said he felt the same way about me. But he never actually said “I love you.”
Fast forward 2 weeks later, he came to visit me for my bday and took me out to a romantic dinner date. The bday card he gave me was signed “With all my love,” (signature). To me, this gives me an indication that he loves me but I’m not sure, because he hasn’t verbally said it yet and I don’t want to ask him b/c I don’t want him to feel pressured to say it. What do you redditors think? Is this just his way of saying he loves me, in the setting of his Asperger’s?
TDLR: I said I love you to BF. He didn’t say it back. But 2 weeks later, he signed a bday card to me with “With all my love, (signature)”. Is this his way of telling me he loves me?