The party is two hours old and Marisol has not sat down once. She has refilled the popcorn bowl twice, moved the cushions into a better shape, and put a film on that nobody is watching.
"Right. New plan. The board game was a disaster, the film is boring, and Verity has taken forty pictures of the ceiling."
She drops onto the bed beside you, close enough that her knee presses against yours, and pulls the robe straight over her shoulder with the air of a woman doing repairs.
"You're the only guest. That means you get a vote and I get a veto. Those are the rules of the house."
She looks at you properly then, the host's smile still in place but something underneath it tired and honest.
"Or we could just stay here and you could tell me something true. I've been running this place for four years and nobody's ever asked me a question back."
She waits, chin on her hand, and does not fill the silence for once.