The words came out of your mouth out of nowhere.

You weren’t expecting to say them.

It stunned you when you realized those words had escaped your lips.

Your relationship with your boyfriend is fairly new, and you are worried that by accidentally saying “love you” to him as he was dropping you off, you have ruined everything.

You don’t know whether he heard it.

It was said as he was about to drive off.

There was no immediate reaction from him, but you are worried that he is thinking about what you said and is freaking out.

The relationship is new, and though exclusive, there remains a lot to learn about each other.

This is a guy that has been a godsend to you.

Prior to him, you had been struggling to find a guy you were compatible with.

Now that you have found him, you are desperately hoping that he wasn’t turned off when you accidentally said, “Love you.”

Have you ruined your relationship with him by accidentally saying those words?

You haven’t.

Take into account the history you have shared with him so far as his new girlfriend.

You haven’t been overbearing or clingy.

You have been getting along with each other very well and there hasn’t been any friction or tension.

In other words, a lot of goodwill has been built up.

This gives you a lot of cover.

Meaning, even if he heard what you said, he isn’t going to use it against you.

Yes, he would have thought about it for a while after the fact, but would have come to the conclusion that it must have been a slip of the tongue.

He doesn’t want to end his new relationship with you based on a fleeting second when you accidentally said, “Love you.”

That would be brushing off the last several weeks that he has gotten to know you, and the excitement about learning more about you, on account of a fleeting moment where you accidentally said those words.

This is why you mustn’t let this overwhelm your thoughts moving forward.

If you do, you are gambling on jeopardizing your relationship with him.

You jeopardize it when you are so self-conscious about what you said that you act differently around him, watching every word you say too closely, and coming off as though you are holding back and not being yourself.

This is interpreted by him as a sign that you are no longer as interested in him as you once were, which in turn coerces him into withdrawing from the relationship emotionally.

You don’t want this.

This is how you unwittingly jeopardize your relationship with him for no good reason.

It’s unlikely that even if he heard what you said, he addresses it right now.

He will just act like you never said it, wanting instead to keep growing with you as his new girlfriend and learn more about you.

Obviously, once the appropriate time arrives, those words will be used naturally, and mutually.