Julian's Slow Burning Love
By Sue Russell

For a couple who find it hard to hide how besotted they are with each other, Julian McMahon and Brooke Burns' love affair got off to a surprisingly platonic start. In a tradition as old as Hollywood itself, their publicist first paired up the happy couple, and it was all strictly business.
Brooke now in her second season of Baywatch, didn't have a boyfriend, so eligible bachelor Julian was the perfect escort for show biz functions.
'I'm this down-home girl from Texas,' Brooke says. ' I was thinking: "Oh, an actor!" and Julian must have been thinking: "Oh my lord, a Baywatch chick!"
'So they introduced us and suddenly I was being escorted down the red carpet and there were photographs and interviews. You learn a lot about somebody that way because you hear them answer questions and see their personality.'
'I though: "Wow! He's such fun, so charming, such a gentleman." '
Julian, 30, who has starred in Profiler for three years, was equally impressed with Brooke, who turns 21 this month, when they attended their first film premiere together.
'She just looked so spectacular, the photographers were all yelling,' Julian recalls.
Tellingly, neither Julian nor Brooke can remember which movie they saw that night. And although the sparks flew, there was no dinner after the film and no private dates.
As a Texan, Brooke is about as close to an Australian as an American can come and they immediately felt relaxed together. However, they didn't exchange so much as a phone call -- it was strictly business. And, incredibly, it stayed that way for six long platonic months.
'I had such a wonderful time, I didn't want anything to mess it up.' Brooke says, leaning over to give her love the first of many kisses.
'For months I was in agony, besotted. I had a crush on her for so long it was really pathetic. I'm not good at that kind of stuff anyway-- making the first move.' Julian admits.
'And I thought he didn't like me!' Brooke says. 'I thought he must like dark hair and dark eyes and not be into the all-American look.'
Finally, the thunderbolt struck about four months ago at a dinner function during a film festival in Las Vegas.
'In the middle of holding out our menus and asking: "What are you eating?" we just leaned over and kissed each other,' Brooke recalls.
'It was so bizarre,' Julian says. 'At first we didn't address it, then 20 minutes later, we went, "What the hell happened?" '
'It was hilarious,' Brooke adds. 'It was the most natural thing, yet after we kissed we didn't even make eye contact. We just looked at the others and said: "So what are you guys having?"
'It was so funny. We had dinner, we went swing dancing for about four hours and we had this great evening, but we still didn't say anything.'
Did more kisses the first?
'A little bit," Julian says with a sheepish grin, 'but it was very conservative.'
When they returned to the hotel, they were both so exhausted they almost called it a night.
'Then Julian suddenly said: "Wait! We have to celebrate!" ' Brooke says with a sigh. 'And he ordered a bottle of Dom Pérignon.'
'But,' recalls Julian, 'it arrived about 35 minutes later. We were so exhausted we drank half a glass each and I said: "I'll see you later, I'm going to bed!"
'Oh, but it was romantic,' Brooke counters. 'I was blown away. I went to sleep with a smile on my face.'
However, before they could have a serious discussion about what had transpired, Julian left for Australia and Brooke for Hawaii. Brooke didn't know where things were headed.
'He's been in so many serious relationships and so have I,' she says. 'And we had talked before about how it was nice to just have a good friendship and not have any of the pressures.'
'So I'm thinking that he doesn't even want a serious relationship. I was like: " Don't get your heart involved, Brooke. Keep a distance." '
'Meanwhile, I was thinking: " Get your heart involved, sweetheart!" ' Julian quips.
Julian reportedly swore off relationships after his divorce from Dannii Minogue. Had he, in fact, put up a wall?
'In a way,' he admits, 'but I think it was more being particular and wanting to find somebody compatible.'
Given that geographical distance took a toll on his marriage to Dannii, Julian was wary of winding up in another long -distance relationship.
'It is not the easiest thing in the world. It depends on where you are in your life and your level of commitment to each other,' Brooke points out.
'You sort your priorities and hopefully make each other the first priority,' Julian agrees.
And although Brooke's a rising star, you sense she might not take a great job offer if it meant being far away from Julian...
'To let you in on a little secret, it was never my life-long plan. Relationships have always been a priority to me.'
Although Julian and Brooke aren't living together, could they see themselves together long-term?
'We wouldn't be doing this story if we hadn't made a commitment to each other. We're just enjoying our time together,' Brooke points out.
Both confess they felt nervous about being photographed together for the first time for New Idea.
'However, it becomes uncomfortable having to hide each other and hide your relationship,' Julian explains. 'Eventually, you have to decide if you're continuing your relationship. If so, you may as well squash that rumor mill.'
One of Julian's and Brooke's shared interests is decorating and they are currently reworking Julian's stunning two-story, hilltop Hollywood house. They say they are never happier than when they are hanging out at home.
And although Brooke has already visited Julian's home town Sydney, she has yet to meet his mother.
The lovebirds have no immediate plans for another visit, but if Baywatch filmed some more episodes in Australia they'd love it.
'Brooke could drag me along as luggage!' Julian says