ASHLEE SIMPSON DOUBLE DATES WITH NICOLE RICHIE!

Us Weekly Reports:
Parents-to-be Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz went on a double date with Nicole Richie and Joel Madden in NYC Wednesday.

The foursome were never photographed together.

The crew probably had plenty to talk about: Richie and Madden welcomed daughter Harlow in January.

It was the latest Big Apple outing for Simpson.

She chowed down Virgil's BBQ in Midtown Manhattan following her Tuesday appearance on MTV's TRL, where she said questions about her pregnancy were "inappropriate."

Late Tuesday, she and eight pals hit NYC Italian eatery Da Umberto.

Eating for two, she dined on antipasto, mozzarella and chicken capricciosa (pan breaded breast of chicken, mozzarella and fresh tomatoes). She skipped out on dessert, a source says.

Adds the source, "She was having fun. She was great."

Simpson is in NYC to promote her new album Bittersweet World.