The breeding process doesn't take "months". Ball pythons have bred in 10 minutes if they decide to. The elaborate cooling period and feeding schedules are not 'required' to get a gravid female. She could indeed be gravid with eggs. She might not be.

Best to prepare for eggs. Set up a incubator and get it prewarmed so it's stable for a few days before you trust it... then wait to see if she lays or not. If she turns out not to be gravid, then you're ready to set up the incubator properly next time.

I tend to agree, MOST females don't tend to 'take' if they aren't ready. You can't force a female to breed. If your female is 'fat' enough, i.e. not thin or underweight, she should be okay. She may be extremely thin when she lays though, so be prepared to fatten her back up. Breeding a small female is something I wouldn't recommend to anyone except someone with plenty of experience. Make sure that you have a good reptile vet in your phone list, in case she does get egg-bound. Just in case, you know.