May 28, 2007

That was quick. Just three days after Jessica Simpson and John Mayer called it quits, the rumor mill is a-churning with reconciliation rumblings. Seems the mammose, Mystic Tan-addicted starlet, 26, and the newly cropped crooner, 29, rendezvoused in New York this week.

Mayer, who was reportedly the one who pulled the plug on the romance, was "looking really happy" as he departed Simpson's hotel on Monday afternoon, a spy tells In Touch. "He couldn't stop smiling."

While the singer's grin could have been wide for any number of reasons (e.g., Jess gave him back his favorite if seriously-stretched-out-in-the-chest T-shirt), a Simpson source chimes in, "They definitely went on a date last night."

The definition of "date" may be a bit broad, however. According to Us Weekly, the chin-dimpled pair spent Sunday night hunkered down in Jessica's hotel room.

But the In Touch snitch downplays their quality time, warning that it doesn't necessarily mean they've patched things up: "She still loves him, but he's not stable. He's scared of commitment. He breaks up with her and then regrets it and then begs her to get back together."

Meanwhile, a "music-business source" confirms the couple's inconstancy to the New York Daily News, explaining, "They've broken up about a dozen times this year, and they've always come back together. They're adorable together."

So what's behind their persistent parting of ways? One mole cites Mayer's unhappiness with the starlet's cleavage-popping wardrobe choices (these heinous, high-waisted pants probably didn't help, either), while another blames their jam-packed schedules, saying, "The separations were difficult."

Either way, neither Simpson nor Mayer has appeared all that heartbroken in the wake of their breakup.

On Thursday night, hours before news of their split surfaced, they were both reportedly out on the town, with Jessica expressing her delight in meeting an eligible bachelor at the Cannes Film Festival and John getting his flirt on at a New York hot spot.

London's Mail on Sunday says Simpson, who was in France promoting her proposed "Private Benjamin" knockoff, "Major Movie Star" (groan), caught the wandering eye of Jude Law at a fest fete.

"Jude came over to where Jessica was sitting with her parents and introduced himself," a spy tattles to the paper. "They then stepped away from the crowd to have a quick chat."

Simpson, who denied rumors from early last year linking her to the Sienna Miller-susceptible actor, was happy to share her impressions of the tête-à-tête.

"Jude's lovely -- it was the first time I'd met him and he was very charming," she was quoted as telling the paper. "I love the way he talks. His British accent and the way it makes him move his mouth are such a turn-on."

Coincidentally (or not), their alleged confab took place just a day after the Daily News reported that Law kicked up a fuss when he spotted Simpson at a soiree following the screening of his flick "My Blueberry Nights," purportedly whispering to agent Patrick Whitesell, "What's she doing here?"

While Simpson was in Cannes trying to figure out the difference between the Croisette and a croissant (we're guessing), Mayer was making the scene at New York nightclub Stereo, where his apparent attentions to specific members of the opposite sex will likely have armchair psychiatrists buzzing.

The Daily News reports the singer was "hitting on every superskinny girl there, and only the really skinny ones." In other words, girls who didn't look like the more top-heavy, va-va-va-voomy Simpson.

Still, Mayer's flirting efforts seemingly failed -- he exited the club solo.

Next: Britney's Leather Racket