The L Word.....

Well I'm back from my fabulous weekend in Seattle.. I have to say, I am completely amazed. I went up there with someone I have been dating on and off for the last couple months. Recently we have started dating again.. Well he threw that word out, Yes the L word.... L O V E.....
I have no idea how I feel about this, I mean, yes I like you, but love... Now I have to admit that when threw this word, my mouth dropped and I said "WHAT"? Maybe not the reaction he was hoping for, and well he quickly changed his tune. "Well I love you as a friend, but I am not in love with you...." OK WHATEVER!
First of all you don't throw that word out, not if you don't mean it. Now really, this was the last thing I expected.
Then he tells me, " well I was feeling emotional, I was caught up in the moment.." I don't care!!!! NEVER, EVER does that word need to be spoken unless you truley mean it.
I tell my friends I love them all the time, but i would never say it to someone I was dating, unless I meant it...... I am really not sure how to feel about this. Now I feel things to be a little weird. No matter how he tries to play it, it was said, and now I have to wonder in the back of my head, did he really mean, or was he just caught up in the moment...
Any advice you can give me on this would be most appreciated. I mean can you just throw that on the table and then take it back? I have no idea... But non the less this has been on my mind......