His friend slipped up and said: 'it's not that he doesn't lov-'. What does this mean?

[Anonymous]

He's been opening up to his friends about how he actually feels and said that he does care about me. I've had some of his friends asking me if I would go back to someone who rejected me and who should make the first move in that situation. His friend also told me that our situation is different to his situation which is basically he likes a girl and she doesn't like him back. He told me, 'it must be difficult that he won't open up to you directly' and said 'it's not that he doesn't lov-' and then stopped himself and changed the word. What does this mean?

[random_girl95]

He wanted to say "it's not that he doesn't love you but.. " and didn't conclude. Well I think that he is just insecure because you rejected him once and he is afraid that you will do it again.

[boredguy007]

Prolly.

[Asker]

It was actually him who rejected me