In love with my best friend?

Okay so i met my best friend almost 3 years ago and it's incredible how fast we became vest friends. I was with my boyfriend when my best friend told me he had been in love with me for a really long time. At that moment i was confused cuz in some way i was attracted to him as well, but i LOVED my boyfriend so much so that's what i told him(which he respected) and he said that he would wait for me. (That was 2 1/2 years ago)Now i broke up with my boyfriend almost four months ago and i really want to be with my best friend although i don't feel ready yet (not sure if y'all understand what i mean🙄) i feel that i could be in a serious relationship with him that would last forever so i don't want to rush thing and then end up screwing everything up. But at the same time I don't want him to just forget about me and what we could be.