What Was Harrison Ford’s Amazing Reaction to Carrie Fisher Outing Their Affair on Star Wars?

One might expect Harrison Ford to have had a few choice words for Carrie Fisher when she gave him a friendly heads-up about a book she was writing that would publicly reveal their 1976 affair.

Instead, the dry-witted actor uttered just one.

“He went, ‘Lawyer!’ ” Fisher tells PEOPLE.

The actress-author, 60, took his reaction as playful, if resigned, and assured her Star Wars costar she’d send him an early copy and said she was open to any notes.

Indeed, Fisher, who was just 19 at the time of their whirlwind romance during the original Star Wars shoot, sent Ford an early manuscript for The Princess Diarist, exclusively excerpted in this week’s issue of PEOPLE.

“I called him and said, ‘Where are you? I’m sending it to you,’ ” she recalls. “I don’t want to embarrass anyone and he’s very private. I said, ‘I know you’re not going to be excited but …’ ”

No notes from Ford were forthcoming. (And he did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.)

While Fisher has yet to receive Ford’s feedback, she isn’t second-guessing her decision to write about their days together. “It was 40 years ago,” she explains, adding that the whole experience — making the original film and carrying on their secret romance — “was of a time.”

For much more from Fisher — and to read an exclusive excerpt of The Princess Diarist — pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.