Did he mean it?

So during sex the other day with my SO, I was on my period and it became a huge mess and we had to stop and clean it up 🙈 I thought it totally killed the mood but afterwards we continued to touch each other and I asked him what he was thinking about- in an attempt to get him to cum- and he let down this wall. He said he was thinking about my eyes and how much he loved staring into them (and how beautiful they are) and basically said everything around 'I love you' without actually saying it. He also called me 'sweetie' in the most sincere way I've ever heard him say something- and he never says sweetie.

Do you think he meant it, or was it just pillow talk?