Last time I counted, I had ten fingers I could put stuff on. I’m under the general impression that this rule of thumb (haha) holds true for most people. Last time I inspected Ashlee Simpson’s hands (which was about two weeks ago when she came over for TV dinners and girl talk) she had all her fingers. So you’d think that if she really wanted to wear a sparkly ring, she could pick one of the nine digits that doesn’t cause the flutter of a million gossip columnists’ hearts. But why do that when you can cause a big ‘ol scene by shoving some knockoff bauble from Claire’s on the ring finger on your left hand? Poor Ashlee Simpson’s rep has been working overtime since she wore what appeared to be an engagement ring on her left hand on New Year’s Eve. But it’s all just a happy coincidence/mistake/ classic case of a Simpson girl forgetting the difference between left and right.

Ashlee Simpson and Fall Out Boy rocker Pete Wentz are not getting hitched, their reps tell Usmagazine.com.

Talk of their engagement started after the singer rocked a ring on her left finger while celebrating the new year at Miami’s Shore Club with Wentz.

But her rep tells Us, “Ashlee is not engaged” – a denial confirmed by Wentz’s rep.

This isn’t the first time engagement rumors have surrounded the long-time couple. In July, Simpson’s rep denied reports they were on the way to the altar.”

[From Us Weekly]

I’m sure the timing of the accidental ring placement was totally coincidental. Entertainemntwise mentioned that, “Ashlee herself helped the speculation along when she used her ring finger to flip the paps as she took a stroll along Miami beach with the Fall Out Boy rocker.” I’m sure that was purely accidental. Just like the ring placement. It most certainly had nothing to do with the fact that Ashlee seems to think she’s not getting enough attention of late. Agent Bedhead noted that Ashlee was supposedly pretty pissed that no one paid attention to her new video last week, due to the fiasco caused by Jamie Lynn Spears pregnancy. Well if you don’t want to get knocked up, a fake engagement is probably the next-best thing. Stay tuned next week when Ashlee will no doubt debut a little bit of bloating, after which her people will anonymously call Us Weekly with fake pregnancy rumors.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz are shown in South Beach, Miami on 1/1/08, thanks to PRPhotos.