I should imagine anyone who's been though what you have, will have trepidation about letting another in 100%. Give it time and be kind to yourself. I know some people who never find it easy to say, let alone a survivor. Perhaps if you can't physically say the words and he wants to hear them, can you write it down instead? Perhaps a card or something? I wrote the words on a sandy beach while visiting family, and photographed it with my phone and sent it as a message..