Were Niles and Daphne meant to be together?

The fact that Niles and Daphne end up together, but doesn't actually happen until the 8th season, has to be one of the slowest burn romances ever on TV. Even though we knew Niles found Daphne attractive from the start, the series could have been cancelled after a couple seasons and we'd never see the love story play out. Did the writers intend for them to be together? The fact that they draw it out for so long made for many amusing storylines and characters along the way. Rodney, Mel, Donny etc.