She glanced around covertly, then lowered her voice. “You were right.”

“About what?”

“About Seth needing time—about him being preoccupied.”

Oh lord. He’d finally slept with her again, now that things had ended with us. I can’t say I was happy to have this news delivered to me, but for her sake, I was at least glad she could stop worrying.

“Wow, that’s great, Mad—”

“He was waiting to propose!”

She shot her hand up to my face so quickly that for half a moment, I thought she was going to punch me. But, no, there was no impact—unless you counted the brilliant glitter of the engagement ring dazzling my eyes.

“Oh my God. But it . . . it’s so soon . . .”

“I know,” she said, breathless from her excitement. “I can’t believe it. And I mean, yeah, we’ve only been going out for about four months, but Seth says we can have a long engagement, that he just wanted to commit things between us.”

Of course he did. When upright people screw up like this . . . they do try to rebound in their way. The guilt’s got to be eating him. People like that try to do things to make up for it. Rash things. How could I be surprised? I’d become a succubus because I’d cheated on my husband and been caught. I’d sold my soul in an effort to blot that act out, to make him and everyone else I knew forget me. Why was this any different?

“You don’t think . . .” Maddie turned uneasy, once more seeking my approval and advice. “You don’t think it’s too fast, do you? Have I made a mistake? I mean, even if we wait awhile for the wedding . . .”

I kept smiling. “It’s fine, Maddie. There’s no time frame that’s set for everyone. If it’s what feels right to you, then you’ve got to do it.”

Her grin lit back up. “Oh, thank you. I’m so glad to hear you say that. I mean, I said yes, and I’ve been excited . . . I just didn’t want it to seem like I was rushing in.” She glanced back down, admiring the ring. I realized something.

“It’s a diamond.”

She gave me a curious look. “Of course. Why wouldn’t it be? Most engagement rings are.”

Last year, I’d teased Seth about getting married, and he’d said that if he ever did, he’d give his bride-to-be a ruby because he thought diamonds were ordinary, and getting married was extraordinary.

I stared into the stone’s glittering facets, puzzled. “Did you pick it out? Had you told him you wanted a diamond?”

“Nope. It had never come up. He just got it for me. Why?”

I shook my head and tried to look happy for her. “No reason. It’s beautiful. Congratulations.” I turned to leave. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Georgina, wait.”