My ex and I dated from January 2020 until October 2020. He is a very caring and kind man but has some abandonment trauma from his divorce in 2014. I am currently 32 and he is 42.
We broke up because I was ready to take the next step in our relationship (discuss engagement and moving in together in more detail) and he wasn’t there yet. It was always part of the discussion but we never went into real detail. At the time I was hurt that he wasn’t ready to talk about it after so long so I ended the relationship.
We ended in a good note. He pursued me for several months but it wasn’t enough for me. We’ve spoken here and there but nothing concrete. He texted me in February 2022 (3 months ago) and I didn’t answer.
About a month later I started to realize I miss having him in my life as he has been the most consistent and caring man I’ve known. I reached out on 4/3 to say I miss him. He said he has a girlfriend but he thinks about me all the time and thinks he made a mistake letting me go. I said OK I understand and I’m sorry I didn’t realize it sooner. We leave it at that.
Fast forward to this past Tuesday, he texts saying he can’t stop thinking about me and wants to see one another.
Is this relationship salvageable? We are meeting this week for dinner. How do I handle this first meeting?