My ex wants to come back. How do I read it?

A wish to return tells you what is being proposed now. It does not show what has changed since the relationship ended. An apology, a plan and repeated follow-through are different kinds of information; one cannot stand in for all the others.

The useful conversation is about the specific difficulty that ended things and what both of you would need this time. You can hear the proposal without agreeing to restart, and no waiting period by itself can prove that a return will work.