Hello and welcome to PC!

It sounds like you have a great budding relationship. There's no need to rush anything. I am sure he is scared. Taking on someone's children is a very scary endeavor!

Just to give you encouragement-- My sister recently got remarried. She got divorced from a 30 year marriage. She has two grown kids, but my niece is still living with her. She is much more than a handful to put it mildly. She has BPD, ADHD, can't keep a job due to her rage disorder, and is the definition of Wild Child.

The man she married was 57 and never even had a real relationship with a woman. He was so cautious at first, he wouldn't even eat a meal in my sister's house and insisted they were just friends in the beginning. But, he came around and happily committed to my sister, step-daughter and all. And he gets along great with my niece! He acts like the loving father she never had, and he calls her his daughter.