Is this a good thing or a bad thing?

Hi Everyone, please could you give me an insight into how the male mind works. I met a man online and we met up for a date, both of us were nervous but we had spoken on the phone and e mailed before that and knew we would get on like a house on fire. We did get on and the date was great. He asked me to go away with him the following weekend, at that point he said that nothing would happen but it would be nice for us to just spend some time away , the two of us, and for me to relax ( I work full time and have two young children so Im always on the go). I agreed and was looking forward to getting away, he seemed really keen, I was happy to go with the flow. It came to the day before we were going to go away, and he bottled it. He said he was too nervous. He said he liked me so much that it hurt him but that he wanted to take time getting to know me and wanted to slow things down. I was very disappointed but said I understood. Which I kind of do, but how can a man keep telling me how much he likes me, and then suddenly slam on the anchors saying that its because he likes me so much that he wants our relationship to develop over time. Should I be flattered???