Did he mean to say I love you?

My boyfriend came over the night of my 24th birthday (2 days ago). He lives over 50 miles away and he worked all day so I was really happy to see him. We were sitting in the living room on my couch having a gl of wine when he gently pulled me onto him so that my head was propped up on a pillow in his lap. He started stroking the side the my face and my hair. My eyes were closed. He said my name (he hardly ever says my name) and I looked directly into his eyes. He paused. His hands were shaky and sweaty, and (this is weird but I remember it so clearly) where the end of his mouth meets his cheek, that little muscle or whatever it was - was shaking noticeably. After his pause he took a deep breath and said "you're really beautiful." I thanked him and that was that. It just seemed like there was something more there, why all that anticipation just to give a compliment? He never got all crazy nervous before when he complimented me. I was hoping for an "i love you." We've been together for about 6 months, but we've been friends for longer and he's never said those three words before. Did he mean to say I love you? Could he have just chickened out?